Blanco
by Panda-Cake23
Summary: 8059- Takes place during the future arc, chapter 153 in the Manga. Summary inside because I don't want to spoil the story to anyone who hasn't read past this chapter. Warnings: 8059-Yaoi M\M , violence and torture but not only, more inside.
1. Prologue

Hi there people! I don't really like writing a lot about nothing, so let's get straight to business :]

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! definitely isn't mine, it's Amano Akira's. (Though if I did own it I would probably know why Tsuna and Sena *from Eyeshield21* are so much alike. it can't be a coincidence I'm telling you!).

Summary: Go back to chapter 153 in the manga, title is 'Torture'. What if Hibari hadn't come to the rescue? What if Gokudera and Yamamoto were left to the mercies of their opponent, Gamma? And what is their way of dealing with the hardships they are faced with?

Warnings: 8059-Yaoi (maleXmale for those who don't know,those who don't like don't say I didn't warn!), torture and violence, although I don't particulary try to make it graphic, I can't promise anything because I don't censure anything I write. If it really bothers you, you should skip these parts.

Furthermore, I believe it nessecary for me to mention that English is not my native language and I am writing to the best of my abilities, if you feel there is something you need to comment about my writing I will warmly accept it as long as it's constructive and not insulting.

Enjoy

* * *

**Blanco**

**  
Prologue**

Gokudera couldn't believe this was really happening. Yamamoto was lying a few meters next to him, unconscious. He himself was beaten up pretty badly too, from all the electric attacks and beatings Gamma gave him. He was barely able to move, let alone stand when he heard the feared man talking to him.

"-hey are you even listening?" and he was kicked in the face, "You better tell me now, or you will end up in more pain than I'm sure you already are, why is the Vongola's 10th generation boss alive? How is it even possible?"

Gokudera coughed blood and glared at the man above him "Like I would tell!" he said with the last bit of strength in his body.

"No other option then, I will have to take you both back with me, maybe _then_ you will start talking" said Gamma and grabbed each of the defenseless guardians tightly after he made sure to cover their eyes.

He started heading back and ignored Gokudera's weak protests.

* * *

It was dark, this was the first thing the rain guardian noticed when he opened his eyes, the second was that there was someone beside him, looking at him. Yamamoto got up only to see Gokudera sitting next to him, "Thank god you are fine, I thought you were hurt too badl-" Gokudera couldn't finish the sentence as he fell down on the floor, exhausted.

"Go-Gokudera! Are you okay? What happened? Why are we here? Where are we?!"

Gokudera opened his eyes weakly, only to close them again, "Too many questions, baseball idiot..." and then he passed out.

* * *

Gokudera opened his eyes, he didn't know how much time he was out but what bothered him more at the moment was the suddenly soft floor under his head, it made him think for a moment where he was before he passed out. He looked up into the dark, caring eyes of the rain guardian above him. The silver haired boy got up slowly, as to not aggravate his wounds, and looked around, 'Still here then, huh?' he asked himself and turned to the other boy. Without waiting for more questions he understood by seeing the confused and curious look on the face of his cell mate and began explaining.

"It was Gamma, the bastard, after he was done with you he started questioning me about the tenth" his voice raspy as he explained. "Like hell I would tell him, I would rather die!" he continued with an angry tone as he remembered.

"Now now, calm down Gokudera, what happened next?" Yamamoto asked with a calm voice while considering the situation patiently, washing the anger away in favor of more information that would hopefully allow them to find some way out of wherever they are.

The storm guardian calmed and continued, "He asked me why the tenth was still alive, and when I refused to answer he said something about taking us back with him" he stopped for a second and then finished "This is how we ended up here, this place seems to be the Millefiore family's base".

Yamamoto looked confused even more then before, "Why would he bring us here?"

Gokudera was more than shocked to hear this question, "Are you really that much of an idiot?" he asked, "I thought for sure that you stopped thinking about this whole situation we are in as a game the moment we came to the damned future! I can't believe this!"

"No, wait I think you got it all wr-" Yamamoto started,

Gokudera was furious, "You got this all wrong! The mafia isn't a game, _this_ isn't a game, how could you still be so naive that you can't even see what's right in front of you?!"

"Will you stop for a moment and listen to me?" Yamamoto asked angrily "This is definitely not what I meant, of course I know this isn't a game!" he shouted at the stunned storm guardian who has never seen him this emotional. "Now isn't the time to get into meaningless arguments, now is the time to think of a way out of here!"

"Then what did you mean when you asked-"

"I was confused by the fact that he only needed us to answer his questions about Tsuna, surely it wouldn't be hard for them to see that we are all much younger than we should be in this time!" Yamamoto answered not giving Gokudera the time to finish his question "It is way too obvious!".

Gokudera thought for a moment, "There's probably more to it than just this, though I have no idea, he didn't ask me about anything other than the tenth".

"Do you remember the way? Did you see anything useful?" the other boy asked with hopes to find a way out,

"My eyes were covered on the way here, I couldn't see, but I could tell that it was not so far from where we fought" Gokudera answered.

Both boys had calmed down by this time, knowing that it was only because of the stress and pain either of them are experiencing at the moment, and that taking their frustrations on each other isn't going to make the situation any better for the two of them.

It was then that they started looking around, and after a quick inspection they easily noticed the lack of items in the cell, hell it was a cell!

Also, referring this as merely 'lack of items' wasn't the right way to describe the cell. The only actual item was a small bed near the wall, that indicated that it was probably supposed to be a one-man's cell. Other than the bed there was a small window, no larger than an average man's head that was almost entirely covered by thick bars that made it almost impossible to see what was outside.

Both boys sat near each other with their backs to the cold concrete wall, they both had the same thought though, 'Now what?'.

* * *

The two guardians jumped to their feet the moment they heard steps heading their way, they both knew that they wouldn't have been brought here unless their capturers had a reason to keep them alive and locked. It has been almost two days since they were brought there and they had the feeling that something was sure to happen soon, they were right.

The cell's door opened and they watched as three people had entered the dark room. Although they didn't know who the two who first entered the room were, they immediately recognized the third and last to step in as Gamma. The boys watched him as he closed the door behind him and started moving towards them.

Needless to say, they were literally hopeless. They were both injured, tired and hungry, which meant that there was no way they could fight back and win against anything that Gamma might want with them and for all they knew, no one was about to save them from the situation they were in at the moment.

Gokudera couldn't understand the meaning behind the satisfied look on the tall blond's face. That is, not until he heard his own voice, _"It was Gamma, the bastard, after he was do-", _Gamma pushed what seemed to be the 'stop' button on the small device he held and the obvious record stayed silent. The man looked at Gokudera's confused face, "Surely you didn't think we would have left you two completely alone, with no means of knowing what you were doing, right?".

At the moment, Gokudera could only think one thing, between the hate and the pathetic state he was in, he could only be thankful to himself for not saying anything that could be useful to the enemy in the two days he had stayed in the cell with Yamamoto. After all, most of their time they spent in silence, trying to regain their energy and recover their injuries. He didn't know what could have happened if one of them accidentally spilled a vital secret. His thoughts were interrupted though, surprisingly by Yamamoto.

"Oh no-" he said, horrified,

"Oh yes," Gamma said, smirking as he sees the realization on the younger boys face, "_Everything_ is recorded".

Gokudera couldn't understand for a few seconds until he pieced the information and paled after realizing. They had revealed that they are indeed from the past, they should have been more careful!

"Bastard, huh?", the older said while looking from one silent boy to another, "You see, we were trying to choose who to take first for questioning, and it seems that you gave us the answer which by the way, saved us the trouble of tossing a coin" he finished as his eyes focused on Gokudera for the second time. The two guys that came in with Gamma stepped forward at Gamma's signal "We take the grey haired one first".

Gokudera wasn't clueless, he knew Gamma chose to take him instead of Yamamoto, the choice was between the two of them. He didn't know where they wanted to take him but he knew that it wasn't for a good reason, not for him anyway.

He would have fought back even though he knew he didn't stand a chance as the two larger men grabbed him and rushed him forward,

He would have screamed and cursed at them with everything he had even though he knew that no one would hear him,

He would have tried to run away even though he didn't know where he was and where to go,

But he didn't, he didn't because something deep inside him told him that if he did fight back and scream and curse, something bad might happen to his friend and he didn't want to see Yamamoto get hurt because of him, not one bit. As much as the boy protested that he wasn't naive, Gokudera knew better. Unlike Gokudera, Yamamoto didn't grow up in the mafia, he just became involved in it only a few months back.

So he let the two guys lead him forcefully out of the cell, trying to ignore Yamamoto's protests, 'It doesn't matter whether he likes it or not, as long as he is safe' he thought to calm himself down. It was strange, he thought, normally he could care less about the other boy, but he had this strange feeling that if he would let Yamamoto get hurt, he will also be hurt by it. That alone allowed him to stand and walk for Yamamoto's sake, he wouldn't let the boy get hurt, not if he could help it.

Gokudera was too much focused on thinking to notice that he was being led through many identical looking corridors, too much focused to notice that Gamma was nowhere to be seen, until he snapped back from his thoughts when he suddenly noticed a white door in front of him.

The man to his right pushed the door open and revealed the hell behind it.

Not long after the storm guardian was pushed into the room he heard a loud noise that indicated that the white door and the only way out of this room was just closed. Not that it would have made any difference though, he couldn't get out, not when the two larger guys led him across the room. It didn't make him feel better. To know that he has no way out no matter what he tried, no, it made him feel worse.

Gokudera knew it wouldn't be a walk in a candy shop but damn! It was too much!

* * *

Yamamoto sat quietly in the cell, the thoughts of the last few minutes cycling in his head. He was confused, he had many questions he wanted answers for. However, he had one dominant question in his head, that kept popping all the time, 'Why?'.

Why is it that when Gokudera was taken out of the room he didn't resist, he didn't even try to make them change their decision! It didn't make any sense, having known the Italian smoking bomb to have a short fuse that would make him explode over anyone who tries to make a move on him.

So why? Even when he watched Gokudera being led out of the cell, leaving him alone in the cold and dark dungeon, he felt that something was different.

* * *

That's it for now, and remember- this is just the prologue. This fic should be as long as I feel the need for it to be, I don't want to either rush it or draw it pointlessly too much, so expect it to be... _eventful_.

He He He... well as for reviews, they are warmly welcome and will make me smile, easy don't you think? :]

Until next time, which hopefully will be soon (in the next two weeks at max), buh bye!


	2. Moon

Oh my, you should have seen my smiles :] Thank you, very much for the reviews, made me really happy.

And excited. And motivated. And..... you know ;P

Don't worry, I really like this story and I have every intention to see to it that it is written as best as possible. Not to mention that it's just like an alarm goes off in my head, telling me to write just another paragraph. It's addicting, really and I like it.

Just to reassure you even more, because I know how long people sometime take to update, I really don't have much to do right now. Of course that doesn't mean I spend all my time in my room, but just that I really am not stressed by anything at the moment and have time to write :]

* * *

**Blanco: Chapter 1 - Moon**

Hooks and chains, bars and poles, leather straps and... is that a whip? Just by looking around Gokudera became so pale he could be mistaken for a dead man had he not been so lively, the beating heart-breathing lungs thing, but then again he might actually end up as a dead man after this whole ordeal is over. Who knows?

Nervous was not a word to describe how he felt when he first looked around the room. Fear wasn't either. He just, truly and honestly, felt doomed. Up until that moment he didn't really comprehend the gravity of this entire situation. It wasn't like when he was younger and was forced to eat Bianchi's cooking, this was on an entirely different level.

Unless the Millefiore has some really bad sense of humor, he was going to end up tied somewhere around this room and tortured for the limited amount of information he actually has, and probably for what he doesn't have, also, because he doubted they would just believe him when he says 'I don't know'.

One step at a time, he reminds himself. This might not be as bad as he thinks. Perhaps they won't have enough time or something goes wrong, an earthquake maybe... Just, one step at a time. After all, it wouldn't be good to plan everything by himself, he was just a guest here.

* * *

Yamamoto was lying on the small bed in his cell and tried to calm himself down. There was no way to tell how much time had passed since Gokudera was taken, but it had probably been less than half an hour. Every time he thought about the storm guardian he felt worried. But then he tried making himself stop worrying, telling himself that there was nothing he could do about it but wait patiently and hope for Gokudera's return.

His thoughts were stopped however, when he heard steps heading his way for the second time in the last hour. He quickly scrambled to his feet and waited for the cell's door to open, thinking once again about the silver haired boy and hoping that it wasn't just someone passing by. His hopes were answered though, when he heard the rattling of keys and soon the door was opened but was immediately disappointed that Gokudera wasn't there. He stepped back and waited for the stranger to make his move.

The stranger, probably another one of the Millefiore Mafiosos, signaled to someone outside the door to come over. He took a food tray carrying two dirty glasses of water near a plate with two slices of bread and a bit of rice. Laying it unceremoniously on the floor, the mafioso traced his steps and walked through the door, closing it and leaving the area.

Yamamoto heard the steps heading away and sagged against the wall, releasing a breath he hadn't even noticed he was holding. Deeming it safe to walk over where the tray was laid, he was at the other side of the cell as quickly as his legs could carry him. Not being fed for nearly two days suddenly seemed so much worse. All this time was spent on either worrying or sleeping, and every time a thought about food came to his mind, he immediately pushed it aside. But now when the food was laid in front of him, when he could smell the bread and almost taste the rice on his tongue, he couldn't help himself and started eating while making sure to save Gokudera at least half of what's on the plate and dared not touch the second glass of water.

Only few minutes later, Yamamoto found it extremely hard to not continue eating because the rest of the meal was still laying on the floor next to him, but thoughts of Gokudera came to his mind and made it much easier for him to control his urges. Judging by the amount of food on the tray, and the second glass, he was convinced that the storm guardian will be brought back to the cell.

And yet again, he found himself drifting off while wondering about Gokudera's wellbeing.

* * *

If Gokudera wasn't nervous before, he definitely is nervous now. For the last few minutes he was just standing in the middle of the room, with the hands of the two guys on his own hands and shoulders, restraining him and preventing him efficiently from moving.

Finally his patience lost the fight against his growing nervousness, "If you brought me here just to have me stand then you should just take me back to the cell, it doesn't matter where you take me, I won't tell you anything." he said, waiting for some kind of response but getting nothing in return.

"Well? What the hell are we standing here for? Don't you have anything better to do?", thinking that perhaps if he annoyed them he would get some answers but again he got no reaction.

The door suddenly opened and Gamma walked through, his ever present smirk showing on his face. Without saying anything he gestured towards the ceiling and went somewhere out of Gokudera's view. The two Mafiosos apparently understood him because before he could react and do anything, the storm guardian's hands were cuffed together and chained above his head, his toes just barely touching the ground. Not even a moment later he found himself blindfolded once again.

The uncomfortable feeling of his hands straining against his weight and the chains with the addition of his ability to see being taken made him feel very exposed and vulnerable. The silence in the room didn't help easing his nervousness much either. So he waited, for someone to say something, for something to happen.

A noise behind him drew his attention and he tried focusing on it to understand what was happening around him while he couldn't see. And then he felt it, a sharp pain spread across his back, making his mind go blank. He bit his lower lip to keep himself from crying out. After all, he knew it was coming sooner or later, he just didn't know exactly when.

A whisper in his ear caused a slight tremble go down his spine, "You _will _tell me every single valuable detail you know," Gamma took a step back, distancing himself more with every word that came out of his mouth "You will tell me where the Vongola base is located," the whip came down once again on the guardian's back, "How many Mafiosos there are currently in Vongola's ranks, what the other guardians' boxes are, what are the Vongola boss' plans and every other piece of information regarding Vongola and the mafia itself." he said as he hit the boy over and over again after every demand he made.

On the receiving end, Gokudera was hurting, a lot. It was taking everything he had to stop the cries in his throat and every time his back was hit made it even harder to hold his voice in. And although the pain in his wrists wasn't as bad as the pain in his back, it still felt almost unbearable.

Even if Gokudera was given a chance to answer, which he wasn't because he couldn't even breathe correctly, he wouldn't have. Mostly because he really didn't know the answers to any of these demands, but also because even if he knew, his loyalty to the tenth as a person and his boss is the most important to him, he owed Vongola his life and now the family became his life. The day he loses the family will be the day he loses his life.

And the time went by, seconds and minutes passing, though it felt more like hours. Gamma was striking Gokudera, again and again, only stopping to ask more questions that went unanswered by the stubborn and unwavering storm guardian. Some time after the beginning, Gokudera couldn't find the strength to stop his voice anymore and Gamma seemed all the more satisfied, hearing the boy's cries and gasps for air.

As time continued passing, Gokudera couldn't feel much anymore, the pain in his back taking over his senses. He couldn't see because of the blindfold and all he could smell and taste was blood, his blood. He couldn't feel his wrists but he knew they are probably bleeding as well and his shoulders were hurting not only because of the whip but also because of the strain placed on them to keep him hanging from the ceiling.

By the time it was over, Gokudera's back was already bloodied and the floor underneath him had a small puddle of blood that just kept growing. The storm guardian was already passed out and Gamma found no reason to keep him there unconscious, where was the fun in that? So he ordered the two Mafiosos to lower the boy down and take him back to the cell.

* * *

A voice was carrying through the dungeon, in the cells and outside the windows. Singing with such calm and peace this place had not known.

"And my first memory, if your beauty does not sweep me,  
I throw the guitar and my dad yells at me  
and my mother says "it's my sinner"  
and her taking me for a comforting trip in the moonlight"

Yamamoto was dealing with his worries the only way he knew. Calming himself and drawing time as much as he can because the thoughts he would otherwise have in his head would not be as comforting as this.

"And my second memory, if your eyes do not sweep me,  
I left home to the dangers of time.  
When I asked you, "Will you be mine forever?",  
you answered - -"

His singing was stopped abruptly as the door opened. He didn't wonder why he hasn't heard the footsteps because he was too focused, but he was still surprised. Backing as much as ha can from the door, he saw someone being thrown into the cell and the door closed almost the moment that person hit the floor. Yamamoto rushed immediately to the person's side only to notice it was Gokudera.

He was shocked by all the blood and scars as he took in the sight of his injured cell mate. They were both injured but the torture evidence on Gokudera's back made it even more difficult to handle. The stubborn, hot headed and for some even scary and unpredictable Gokudera Hayato was lying on the floor of the cell, unconscious, bloodied and most disturbingly, vulnerable.

It took Yamamoto a few moments to snap out of his shock and immediately carried Gokudera towards the bed. Making sure he was as gentle as he could be, he laid the other boy on his stomach on the mattress. He took his own shirt of and carefully wrapped it as best as he could around Gokudera to prevent even more blood from flowing freely.

Just as Yamamoto settled down on the floor near the bed, Gokudera's eyes fluttered open, looking at the rain guardian's black hair and his exposed neck. His head was hurting, so was his back, his wrists were not much better and practically every part of his body was hurting either from recent injuries or from even more recent injuries.

Gokudera coughed and unintentionally drew attention to himself, making Yamamoto look back and sit up, a concerned look on his face. "What happened to you?" was the question that finally came through the guardian's mouth.

"Gamma," the other answered slowly, his voice low and rough, "questioned me."

Yamamoto could hear and see the pain in the other guardian's features, and brought the glass that was still full to Gokudera to ease his pain even a bit, helping him sit up and drink carefully and slowly. He decided that asking too many questions once again would not help either of them. So he asked only one question at a time, waiting patiently for the short answer and then asking another question.

Some questions later, he asked the one question that bothered him the most, "Why?"

Gokudera, although mildly unfocused and highly in pain, understood the question for he himself was bothered with this thought, so he answered the only answer that he came up with, and laid down falling asleep almost immediately, leaving the other boy no chance to response.

"Because you are mine to take care of now."

* * *

Some time later, the two guardians were both awake. Gokudera had already eaten the small amount of food he was given and was feeling better than before, though he was still hurting.

At the moment they were having a quiet conversation, filling each other with some invaluable details about the day they both had, but mostly about what information Gamma wanted from them.

"so basically he wants to know everything from where the base is to how the ten-year bazooka manufactured." Gokudera summarized tiredly.

As they both sat with their backs to the wall, much like half a week before then, with only the silvery light of the moon that allows them to see. Yamamoto said "But you know, I know one thing that Gamma doesn't seem to care about" he said reaching to gently stroke a single silver soft lock of hair with his hand "Your hair is most definitely silver" he smiled.

* * *

"It was such an era, that happiness came through anger.  
We laughed about everything, burnt whatever we held in our hands.  
There was nothing left, but to embrace the remorse.  
To say: "Yesterday was good  
and tomorrow will be too"

* * *

First chapter - Done!

Disclaimer: I don't own Reborn!, I don't own the song "Moon" either, though I translated some of it.

So, until next time, next week, take care :]


	3. Goodbye, Naivety

**Blanco: Chapter 2 – Goodbye, Naivety**

* * *

**_Goodbye, naivety.  
Me, as well, have learnt how to lie,  
nothing will happen to me after I die.  
There is no other world in the end._**

* * *

Gokudera woke up for the fourth time since he fell asleep. It seemed like no matter how careful he was, he always wound up waking because he turned in his sleep onto his back and thus pressed the wounds into the mattress. Wondering whether he should get up or just try to go back to sleep, because there wasn't really anything to do in this cell.

He sat up slowly and looked around, seeing Yamamoto sleeping on the ground. Last night Yamamoto insisted that Gokudera should be the one to use the bed because of his injuries, saying it could only make them worse if he slept on the floor. While looking at the other boy's sleeping form, he noticed more than he normally would. The bruises and cuts from their fight with Gamma were the most evident details on his body, being mostly visible because the rain guardian didn't have his shirt on. He was... shaking? Probably because of the cold wind that came through the window.

"Is he really that stupid? Insisting on sleeping on the floor, just how brainless could a person be?" the Italian murmured "Couldn't just tell me he was cold."

Reaching down, Gokudera shook Yamamoto gently, calling him quietly and telling him to wake up. Eventually it worked, and soon enough the taller boy looked up at the other with a dazed and confused stare.

"You really are an idiot." Gokudera pointed out.

Yamamoto looked even more confused than before, "What?"

"An idiot, I have never met someone so idiotic in my life." The Italian stated, he didn't know why he felt so irritated but he guessed it was probably because he just woke up and the Japanese boy always managed to tick him off one way or another without even trying, now without even being awake.

"Well, if you woke me up just for that," Yamamoto started but was cut off by the other boy,

"Get on the bed." he said, waiting for a few seconds but not getting any kind of reaction "Now."

Yamamoto's confusion levels were rising, it really didn't help that he was only still half awake "Wha- why?" he asked.

"Because," Gokudera began, feeling his patience slowly fading "there is enough space." Now, he knew he was not making sense, but the idiot would get the point. "I won't say it again, get on the bed, there is no need for you to sleep on the floor and get a cold when there is obviously enough of the bed for the both of us to sleep on." And with that he laid back down on his stomach on the bed as close to the wall as he could be while mumbling under his breath about stupid selfless people with no common sense.

Yamamoto was dumbfounded, but complied and climbed slowly to get on the bed. Soon enough he was laying on his side with his back to Gokudera. As soon as he relaxed he felt much better than before. The bed, though not ideal, was soft and not as cold and hard as the floor was.

Gokudera, satisfied that the issue was taken care off allowed himself to close his eyes. Now he could go back to sleep.

Still laying next to him, Yamamoto could hear and feel Gokudera's breathing, knowing he was already asleep. He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

Both boys woke up when they heard a sharp sound coming from the door. It seemed like this time their captors didn't feel the need to open the door to check on them, there was a small part of the door that seemed to be able to slide up and down and that only people outside the cell could open. Through it a tray was pushed, even the glasses of water could pass through.

Getting up from the bed, Yamamoto first and Gokudera right after him, the two boys silently sat down and began eating, sharing the food equally without even a word. They were both not satisfied by the amount of food they had gotten, but in this situation they considered themselves lucky to even get enough food to keep the both of them alive.

After he finished eating, Gokudera looked at the empty plate that was set down in front of him, he was still hungry. He did not even want to think how they would get along with it on the long run. And the toilet, there was as much of a problem with the bathroom as there was with the food, there was a small bucket in the corner that he had no idea when their captors got it in, but it was so disgusting to even think about using it.

Now that he ate, though he wasn't full, he felt drowsy and once again found himself heading towards the bed, not really understanding why he felt so tired all the time even though he was sleeping most of the time but passing it as tiredness because of boredom.

Assuming his previous position on the bed, he asked Yamamoto, who was sitting and looking out of the window at what he could see through of the sky, to wake him up if anything new happens, he then closed his eyes and waited for sleep.

* * *

The next time Gokudera woke up was not as pleasant as the last. He opened his eyes and in a moment he was out of the bed. Yamamoto was struggling to get away from the grip of one of the Mafiosos from the day before, calling for Gokudera to wake up and help him get away.

The second Mafioso that was in the cell quickly headed towards Gokudera and held him in place as the first one carried Yamamoto out forcefully, ignoring his shouts for Gokudera. The Mafioso restraining Gokudera knocked him down to the floor and headed out of the door, locking it and preventing any escape he might think of to look for his friend's whereabouts.

Getting up from the floor, his wounds throbbing from the struggle, the remaining Vongola stood alone in the cell, wishing that there was something he could have done to prevent the events of the past few minutes from happening but knowing there wasn't.

So he resigned himself to wait for Yamamoto's return and hope he wouldn't be hurt too much.

* * *

Yamamoto was dragged into a room, wondering if this was the same room Gokudera told him about in their conversation the day before. It probably was, judging by the equipment covering the walls and scattered across the room.

He was afraid, remembering Gokudera's wounds and wondering if they would hurt him that way too. His fear became even more prominent as he caught sight of a particular whip that was hanging on the wall, it was covered in blood and he hoped it was not the other guardian's blood.

His hopes were crushed however, when he saw blood stains that were obviously recently made on a spot on the floor somewhere in the middle of the room. Looking up, he saw a chain coming down from the ceiling and knew who was chained to it just yesterday and just who's blood it was that covered that spot on the floor under it.

With the feeling of dread twisting his insides he was being led further into the room, stopping next to a chair that was fixed to the floor. After being forced to sit on it his hands were tied with ropes skilfully behind the back of the chair as well as his legs being tied each to the chair legs. He was suddenly feeling extremely exposed, not to mention he was still without a shirt on.

The rain guardian didn't have to wait long before Gamma entered the room, making him even more anxious to his fate, knowing it was in this man's hands.

Gamma stood in front of Yamamoto, immediately making his head snap upwards so that he could look at the eyes of his captor. "You know exactly what I want from you, what I want you to tell me." Gamma said. "You have no other options but to tell me now or get hurt enough so you would want to tell me later."

Yamamoto was frightened, he didn't want to get hurt, but he also didn't know anything nor would he tell if he did know, especially after Gokudera protected what secrets even he himself hadn't known about.

"So? What will it be? Talk or no talk?" Gamma asked impatiently.

The Vongola opened his mouth but couldn't seem to be able to voice an answer so he closed his mouth and shook his head no, looking up once again into Gamma's merciless eyes but this time not in fear but in defiance.

Gamma didn't look disappointed at all as Yamamoto had hoped he would be, instead he looked like he expected no other reply than what he was given and said, "No talk then, huh? Let's see how long you can keep quiet then."

Walking behind Yamamoto, he sat down on the floor and took the boy's tied hands in his, holding them firmly and not being surprised by the trembling. "It's your fault, you know, we could have avoided most of it. Oh well, not like I care, feel free to scream" he said.

Suddenly he grabbed Yamamoto's right hand in one of his and with his other hand twisted the younger one's little finger harshly, successfully breaking it making the boy scream in pain.

Moving to the next finger slowly, he took his time, prolonging the torture with the knowledge that the longer it takes the most pain the boy will feel and the bigger the chance he will talk be.

He is going to have fun with this one. So damned responsive.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Gamma didn't know what to do. One could swear the kid was a civilian by his reactions, so fucking innocent! Not at all like the boy from yesterday, who knew his place exactly from the moment he set his eyes on him. It seems as if this one doesn't have any idea what's going on and why he is getting hurt. And judging by this piece of information he would guess the boy is either a very good actor or the most probable guess that he really doesn't know anything useful.

Gamma decided not to risk option number one being true, as improbable as it seemed, and took a different approach. He got up and once again stood in front of the Vongola, who's pained stare was pointed towards the floor. Taking the boy's chin roughly in his hand, he made him look into his eyes. He looked at the younger one's dark eyes while those looked at him once again in fear and this time, tears as well. Probably from the pain, he assumed, he did break four of the boy's fingers before he came to the conclusion it would not get them anywhere.

With his mind set on taking a different approach, Gamma took a small knife from his pocket, this time he was able to see the fear in the boy's eyes as he pressed the knife to the flawless skin of his exposed chest. He was able to see the pain in the younger guardian's eyes as he drew the knife time after time, slashing countless times making the blood flow while asking question after question.

It took twenty more minutes for Gamma to stop and he was disappointed he got no answers other than whimpers and sobs. Knowing it will be a waste of time to continue he ordered the guys to take the kid back to the cell.

* * *

Back in the cell, Gokudera was switching between pacing and sitting on the bed. Every time he sat on the bed he became worried and started pacing, but after a few minutes he would become dizzy and nauseous and will have to sit back on the bed.

He finally realized what was wrong with him. Not being able to sleep properly, being irritated easily overall feeling tired almost all day, combined with the newly discovered headaches, are all symptoms of one medical condition that he could relate to. The guardian just couldn't believe he missed it for almost an entire day.

Finally having knowledge as to what was making him feel this way, he started thinking about how to handle his condition in this situation, but the door was suddenly opened and through it a very bloodied Yamamoto was pushed. The Mafioso who brought him there dropped a small bag he carried on his shoulder to the floor and left.

Taking the boy in his arms, while looking for the actual injuries, Gokudera immediately noticed the knife wounds. He was even more furious when he saw the fingers disfigured. He got up slowly, with the other boy in his arms, he laid him on the bed just as Yamamoto had done to him the day before.

Gokudera then proceeded to see what was in the bag and was surprised to see that it was a really small, but real first aid kit. He looked through it in search for anything helpful and found a few bandages and creams to prevent infection. Looking into it some more, he saw no painkillers but was not surprised.

Taking the first aid kit to the bed, where Yamamoto was now laying awake, looking at him, he started tending to the knife wounds first because they were still bleeding. Using whatever medical knowledge he had, he tried to clean the wounds and bandage the taller boy as best as he could, while making sure that he did not miss anything.

After Gokudera took care of the knife wounds, he made sure that Yamamoto was awake so he could tell him to prepare himself. The broken fingers needed to be put back in place before they heal naturally, if that happens then they will have to break them again in order for them to heal properly.

"Yamamoto," he said, getting the other boy's attention. "We have to set the fingers back like they were before, so they could heal." He grimaced at the look Yamamoto gave him, the one that practically asked him 'Isn't there another way?', but his grimace was was exactly the answer 'No, there isn't.'

"Fine." Yamamoto said, "Do it, I... I trust you."

Gokudera was taken aback by this but accepted it nonetheless. Taking the boy's hand in his, gently and carefully, he told him to take a breath and count to three. When it came to two he pushed the first finger back in it's place, not stopping there, as Yamamoto was already in pain he snapped the three other broken fingers and took a deep breath.

Yamamoto had tears of pain in his eyes the second time today, knowing that this time however, was necessary. "Hurts," he gasped as the other guardian's hand left his. "It hurts... Gokudera."

Not knowing what to do, Gokudera improvised. "We have to find a way to distract you from the pain somehow." he said, "Talk about something, tell me anything and I will listen."

"Like what?" the taller one asked, accepting any idea that could take the pain away.

Gokudera thought for a moment, "Tell me about your family." he said finally.

Yamamoto looked at him strangely for a moment, he seemed like he was pondering about something, but then stopped and shook his head. "Sure, why not." he said. "But it's a long story."

A small smile could be seen on Gokudera's face as he sat down on the floor neat the bed, getting ready for a long story. "Don't worry," he said, "I'm not going anywhere.

* * *

Another chapter up! Next one is Yamamoto's past, it's not a flashback, because I avoid them. Could you guess what was Gokudera's problem?

Disclained: I dont own Reborn!. I also don't own the song 'Goodbye, Naivety'.

Next chapter will be soon, probably this week, next week at most. Reviews are appreciated, I swear I don't bite, I'm actually a very nice person :]

Bye Bye


	4. Fathers and Sons

Hello :]

Thanks for the reviews, he he he, I think I really misled you about Gokudera's condition... Well, the answer is in the last conversation, so just read :D

**Blanco: Chapter 3 – Fathers and Sons**

* * *

_Soon, I will want you to go away,  
__so I could fall silently.  
__So you won't see my wounds opening,  
__so we could stay lonely and break slowly._

* * *

Judging by the way the sun had begun to set, painting the sky crimson red, it seemed to be sometime in the late afternoon. For the last few minutes Gokudera and Yamamoto sat in silence, the tall one laying on the bed while the other was sitting on the floor, leaning slightly with his arm on the bed.

Yamamoto couldn't find it in himself to be nervous, even when he was about to tell someone whom he had never thought would care, about something that he told no one. To be honest, he had never really planned to share this story with anyone, but decided that it would be better to tell the other boy. After all, if Gokudera knew more about where he came from, they might be able to finally get along better and actually feel a bit more comfortable around each other. That, considering the situation, was for the best.

So he took a deep breath and started telling his story, making Gokudera lean ever so slightly in rising curiosity.

"In my family there were only three members: Mom, dad and myself. Mom was a florist and dad owned a sushi restaurant. I was an only child and got all the attention I needed to be happy, at that time I thought the situation at home was normal, that it was ideal. But it wasn't. Ever since I remember myself, I have memories of dad coming home drunk every once in a while, a problem that only became worse in a matter of months. During that time, I remember that there was not a day that passed without a fight going on between my parents. Dad would shout and mom would try to make him see sense, but in the end she would always end up in my room, hugging me with tears in her eyes and telling me that everything will be alright."

At first, Yamamoto thought it would be difficult to talk about his family and past, but miraculously, once he had gotten one sentence out of his mouth, the words just went through his lips with unexplained ease. "I remember how after every fight that ended too badly, mom would take me out of the house for a walk." he now had a small smile on his face and a distant look in his eyes, as if he was seeing the story playing right in front of him. "Those used to be the best moments in every week.

"And soon we would be back at home, we would see dad passed out on the sofa with a bottle clutched in one hand, resting on his stomach while the other hand was hanging off the sofa, touching the floor.

"When I was seven my parents divorced, after mom couldn't take it anymore and the future actually looked much brighter than it ever had. Mom thought it was better to leave dad, even though it meant that I would be raised by only one parent. She was right, we couldn't continue living that way. Mom raised me by herself for a year and it was by far the best year I ever had in my life. There was not even a word from dad but I didn't care because to me, he was not family, I didn't know anything about him. But just when everything seemed to be changing for the better, it all crushed down on us once more.

"Mom became ill, she had a terminal illness and almost nothing could be done to prolong her life. She told me with those tears I had hoped I would not have to see on her face ever again, she told me how there was nothing that could be done, that the doctors could do nothing but make life a bit easier for her. She told me with so much regrets in her eyes, that she wouldn't be able take care of me anymore, that soon I will have to go and live with dad.

"This entire period, while mom was in treatments and medical checks I would stay with dad and he will be worse than he ever was before. Dad was still not talking to me, not even a word, and only gave me food when it was really needed. I couldn't believe just how, from the best times in my life, I was suddenly dropped to the worst. Mom was dying with every day that passed, dad had not changed and once more I found myself in the middle, my life changing with every item that was transferred back from mom's new apartment to the old house the three of used to stay in. It really felt like my life were going backward instead of forward, slowly, everything was going back to the way it used to be. Only mom wasn't there.

"I almost couldn't manage, because I knew that mom would never recover but I drew my happiness through the times that I could see her. Those times were becoming further and further from each other and by the time I reached the age of nine, mom was already gone, and I was left to live alone with my father." he said with a solemn face, thinking back was bringing all those unwanted memories back, but he didn't stop.

"After mom's death, I moved in completely with dad. He was acting worse than he ever was, coming home drunk almost every night of the week, sometimes even bringing home women I didn't know or other drunk friends of his that would look strangely at me, make me nervous and tense. There were times he would come home so drunk that he would hit me for no reason, and that made me hate him. I hated him, so much.

"For years i have done nothing, I took everything, suffered silently. I only came to take comfort in my hobby. Baseball kept me going, week after week, month after month, year after year. I was slowly losing hope and the will to live because other than baseball, I had nothing.

"This year though, everything got better. Of course, it started just as badly if not worse than any year. I was beginning to really close my true self from the world, acting my happiness, not taking everything other than baseball seriously. Because of this, my marks dropped and dad had one more reason to be cruel to me.

"Then I broke my arm and was told that I couldn't play for months. After less than a week, I couldn't take it anymore and tried to kill myself." At this point, Gokudera knew when that happened. He remembered that it was the tenth that saved Yamamoto that time from falling off the school's roof. He continued to sit quietly, amazed at how calm Yamamoto seemed this entire time and waited in silence for the other boy to continue. He really found himself hoping that things _have_, in fact gotten better.

"Dad was contacted by the school that day and was shocked. Finally he seemed to accept the fact that he was not the only family member residing in the house. Finally he seemed to realize that he could have lost the only family he had left. That day everything changed. That night dad I came home, and for my surprise dad was not only home early, but also evidently sober. We had a really long conversation which lasted the entire evening and went long past midnight. For the first time ever, I could see my own father as more than just a person I live with. He swore to be better, to make himself better for the both of us, and I believed him.

"And dad did make himself better," he said with a smile. "He got professional help and everything about him kept changing bit by bit, and the more he changed for the better, the closer I grew to him and the more I could hope for the both of us to be like a normal family."

His face then fell again, "But it seems that bad news are just following me whenever I go. When we got here, to the future, I was told he died in one of the Millefiore attacks on the family, the one in Namimori. It took place less than a week before we arrived in the future." Yamamoto had tears in his eyes at this point, "To think that I would spend more than half my life hating him and just when we were finally becoming closer we would have only a few years together before I lose him again."

Gokudera didn't know what to say to that, this was the worst. He still tried though, "You probably already know," Gokudera said while he turned completely towards the crying boy and laid his hand on the other's shoulder, trying his best to calm Yamamoto down, "that things always get worse before they get better." Stopping only when he remembers just how bad the situation was, he continues, "We are already in the future, taking a part and fighting a war not from our time, there are many causalities but nearly not enough survivors and allies for the family to keep on existing." the situation really was bad, he noted for himself while he continued listing one event after the other.

"And now, we are locked, prisoners in the hands of the opposing family, the Millefiore." he spat, frowning at the thoughts that were currently residing in his head, "The only thing we can do to support the family at the moment is wait, try to survive while not revealing any information to the enemy and last but not least, hope and trust the others to break us out of here.

"So you see? I doubt it could get any worse." the Italian reassured, though he could see that just as himself, Yamamoto had his doubts about the statement. "Everything will get better, we will make it better soon."

"Yes, I know." Yamamoto said, not feeling really encouraged but that truly was all they had. "The question is how much worse will things get before they get better." he mumbled to himself, and though Gokudera still managed to hear it he said nothing.

Gokudera didn't have anything to say to that.

* * *

Later that day, it seemed to be already night but Yamamoto was still feeling awkward. He didn't mean to share all those things, just small parts of everything really. Though he must admit that it did help him with the pain, to concentrate on something else, no to mention the unintended relief he felt for talking about his past with someone.

They didn't do anything interesting other than bandaging Gokudera's wounds. Although, they found out that it was a difficult task in itself. What with one of Yamamoto's hands being useless and the fact that it was extremely difficult for Gokudera to bandage his own back. Not to mention the fact that once they tried pulling the shirt Yamamoto had tied to cover Gokudera's back and make the bleeding stop the shirt material pulled on the closed wounds and opened them once again, making them bleed.

It was not a pretty sight, all the blood rushing from the freshly opened wounds. Also Gokudera's evident pain and suffering made completing the job even more difficult. But in the end, the result was quite satisfying, and also ensured that the wounds would not infect for at least the next few days.

The food came for the second time this day and he struggled a bit to eat with his left hand but still managed. Another meal passed in silence.

* * *

Gokudera's sleep was once again disturbed. He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep, but it still irked him that he had to wake up over his stupid problem. He sat up and looked down, seeing Yamamoto sleeping, curled on the floor. Letting out an exhausted sigh the Italian was almost giving up, the boy just doesn't learn, does he? And now he had, in god knows what time it is, to find a way to drive it through that thick skull of this stupid boy just why it was important him to not sleep on the floor.

Gokudera however, couldn't find one reason other than what he had already told Yamamoto, to make the boy stay on the bed. Well, no reason other than the one that kept nagging him, but he wouldn't, couldn't, ask Yamamoto for this reason. The other boy would probably think that he was weak and fragile, and he wasn't!

But it was for the best, and then maybe he could sleep peacefully again, not feeling so damn cold all night. He frowned, what was he doing? Since when had he cared what anyone thought of him? Well, other than the tenth, he was not just anyone. But really, why should he care? Why should he try to convince himself what was better for them both when he already knew the answer?

Finally coming to a resolution with himself, he ended the mental debate and turned to face it's main character.

"Yamamoto," Gokudera called softly from the bed, getting no answer, "Yamamoto, get up!" he said again, this time a bit more harshly. It worked, and Yamamoto stirred lightly in his sleep before opening his eyes fully to scan the room, his eyes stopping on Gokudera's green ones that were staring tiredly right at his.

For a few seconds no one said a word, an unnerving silence filling the cell. Gokudera gestured towards the bed and waited for Yamamoto to move himself and get it over with, but the rain guardian wouldn't make it easy for him seeing as he just continued to sit still on the floor. He then sighted for the second time in the last few minutes and finally gave up. "Yamamoto,"

"Takeshi." the other boy said, not making any sense to his friend on the bed.

"What?" Gokudera asked, confused.

"Well, you already know pretty much all about me so its stupid for you to still call me by my last name."

"I see." Gokudera said, contemplating how he should react to this. He realized it didn't really matter, what mattered right now is to fend off Yamamoto's stubbornness. "Takeshi," he said, "sleep on the bed with me."

"What?" Yamamoto asked, thinking that there won't be a repeat of last night once Gokudera came to his senses and was not hurting so much that he was probably hallucinating. Gokudera on the other hand, could not believe he was actually asking this.

"I need you," Gokudera started lamely, knowing he could not phrase it any worse than he had just done, "to hold me." he finished, just as lamely. "I don't feel so good and I don't know what to do anymore. We need all the sleep we could get, but for the last two days I haven't slept for more than a few hours straight and I'm exhausted." he said, trying to save himself from falling into the hole he personally dug for himself. "I think I'm having Withdrawals."

"Withdrawals?"

"Nicotine withdrawals, I haven't had a cigarette in almost a week."

"Oh... Okay." Yamamoto said, it never occurred to him... Perhaps this was why Gokudera was so easily irritated these days? He just passed it as stress from their position, not as an actual medical condition that could possibly make it worse. Really, you just couldn't know with Gokudera, he was always acting like that. Choosing not to reply anymore, and thus make the Italian drown in even more embarrassment, he climbed on to the bed. As opposed to last night, this time he was facing Gokudera. He carefully wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him awkwardly towards his chest.

Gokudera involuntarily let out a contented sigh and reveled in the rain guardian's warmth. He knew it shouldn't feel so good, but it didn't change the fact that it did. "Good night." he said, closing his eyes and hoping to actually get some peaceful sleep tonight.

"Good night." Yamamoto returned, closing his eyes and hoping for a better tomorrow.

The silence filled the room once more, both boys were laying on the bed, in each other's warmth and soon they were both falling into much needed sleep, having one dreadful, eternal question tugging at the back of both their minds,

'What is going to happen next?'

* * *

_Fathers and sons, grandmothers and grandchildren,  
mother's heart is exploding.  
Who is guilty for her? who is guilty for me?  
Who will bury who?  
Father crying for his son crying for his father._

* * *

So... Yeah, that's it for now... Was it any good?

Next chapter will hopefully be this week and will have some GammaXGokudera, and for any of you who don't like it, although I would like you to read it, feel free to skip. You already know it's there so you don't _really_ miss the plot :]

But now it's almost six a.m for me and I better get some sleep, so good night and I hope tomorrow will be better for you than it is going to be for me =\


	5. It's Not the Same

Hi everyone, I'm really tired right now so I'll do this quick. Thanks for the reviews :]

Chapter warnings: Other than the ones mentioned in the prologue - Non-consensual sexual situations (GammaXGokudera) and some fluffy 8059 sandwiching it.

**Blanco: Chapter 4 - It's Not the Same**

* * *

_Like when two bodies are touching,  
__it's not the same.  
__Like coming back home from the rain outside,  
__it's not the same.  
__Like screaming deep inside,  
__that it's not the same.  
__It's not the same,  
__like saving mother's life._

* * *

It was raining, through most hours of the night to the early hours of the morning. The downpour went straight through the bars that were blocking the small hole in the wall that was the cell's window, lightly flooding the cell before passing through the small and unnoticed cracks in the cell's door.

By the time that both Gokudera and Yamamoto woke up, they knew they had been extremely lucky for Gokudera's unintentional foresight, and the grateful and sheepish look the Japanese sent the other boy said it all.

Even though each would normally take their place in the cell by now, they were pretty much stuck to the bed. What with the rain not stopping, it didn't seem to be any time now that they were going to be able to get off the bed without having their feet soaked. So they didn't move, neither of them taking their hands off the other, in a silent agreement that would keep the both of them warm. After all, if they had to stay on the bed, they should probably make sure they stay comfortable as well, nothing wrong in that, right?

* * *

Without noticing, both boys fell asleep while waiting for the rain to stop, but woke up at the same time when they heard their meal being pushed through the door. Luckily, with the tray and the plate, the food did not get wet. They also heard some voices outside the door but chose to ignore them in favor of trying to find a way they could bring the food to the bed without getting themselves wet, or, if they had to get wet, how to narrow it down to minimum causalities? Each looked at the food, then at the bed and then at the other, it seemed they had both come up the same plan.

After a few moments of silence, Gokudera lost his patience, he didn't like the way Yamamoto stared at him, like he expects him to just get up and bring the food over to the bed, "Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not getting off the bed." he said, "If it weren't for me you would be soaked right now, you should show your thanks by getting the food by yourself. Besides, it's cold!"

Yamamoto just sat there, keeping his eyes on the Italian, making himself look more miserable by the minute.

"What? Just stop it! That's not going to work on me, you should just stop trying." The storm guardian just couldn't believe it, 'Did he really think that this would work on me?' he thought to himself, 'What did he think would happen? That I would look at him, at that cute sad face he makes, that makes you want to just... Wait, what? Oh no, wrong direction...'

Some more moments of silence and a load of unwanted thoughts later, Gokudera's resolution finally crumbled to dust. He left the warmth and comfort the bed and took one step at a time towards the door, complaining in his head the entire way, not noticing the triumphant smirk that appeared on his cell mate's face, the one that disappeared just before he turned back sullenly with the tray in his hands, leaving only an annoying innocent look after it's leave.

"What?" Yamamoto asked innocently at the glare that the other boy sent his way as he sat back down on the bed, laying the tray between them, "Did I do something wrong?"

Gokudera couldn't believe it! The nerve... "No, nothing is wrong, everything is fine." he said through clenched teeth, his face turning a brighter shade.

"Oh okay, bon appetit!" Yamamoto said happily, having fun with the other boy's reactions.

Gokudera growled, but started eating right after, the corner of his mouth twitching a little bit upwards at the other's cheerful mood, the one he had not seen since before their capture. It felt so good to finally see a familiar expression on Yamamoto's face, like he had no care in the world despite the situation they have gotten themselves into and the risk of something unexpected happening during any time of the day, perhaps things _are_ getting better?

While they ate, each noticed just how much they got used to living with the other, got used to the other's presence and actions. How they knew exactly how much of what to share with the other without speaking and how they knew where each likes to sit in order to feel comfortable. Because they were on the bed then, the only difference between their positions was who would sit facing the window and who wouldn't.

Between the two, Yamamoto was the one that liked sitting in front of the window so he could see what's outside the cell and have something he could hope for while either eating or during any other time. On the other hand, Gokudera rarely looked at the window because then it would make him think about how much more time they have to stay in this cell and look at the outside through the window but not actually be there, how much more time they have to stay in this small cube and feel useless before they get rescued.

After they finished eating, both kept the silence, each had his own thoughts to keep himself occupied. For minutes the two guardians sat in silence, the only sounds came from the guardians' breaths and the constant raining from the outside. The silence was broken though, by the opening of the door, making both boys suddenly become more conscious to their surrounding.

Gamma stepped into the cell and stood in front of the bed, staring at the two boys that were sitting on it. He called the usual two Mafiosos inside the cell and pointed each of them to the direction of either guardian. Without giving them chance, they easily subdued the two weakened prisoners.

At the moment the two Vongola were berating themselves, each in his own mind, for falling into an obviously false sense of security.

Gokudera, being the first one to snap out of his thoughts, looked at Gamma and saw that he was keeping his mouth closed and had an expectant look on his face, like he was waiting for something to happen. He decided to take the chance he was being given to lure the attention only to himself so that hopefully they would not take Yamamoto today as well. The Italian was just getting to know him, he didn't want them to kill him because he was no use to them. The more they would take the rain guardian the more frustrated they will become since he really doesn't know anything.

So, with his resolution set, he looked straight at Gamma's cold eyes and said, as firmly as he could manage, "If you need someone to question, take me." this statement made the rain guardian stare at him in disbelief, but he continued as if he didn't notice, "He is too innocent, you should trust me when I say he doesn't know anything, no one told him anything and you will be wasting your time with him."

It seemed that this was what the older one was waiting for, because he suddenly had that annoying smirk of his on his face, the one that said 'You just did what I wanted you to do, but it won't make anything less painful for you'. "I know." he said, making the everyone in the cell still and look at him instantly, even Yamamoto that until then was staring at Gokudera. "He doesn't act like a mafioso at all... Completely useless to us other than just keeping him as a prisoner. Because of his position as one of Vongola's' guardians, he will be kept alive.

"True, it will just be a waste of our time to torture him, but you on the other hand..." he looked directly at Gokudera, as if he were the only presence in the entire world that interests him, "You seem like you know things, and know how to hide them as well... It just means that we will get to have twice as much fun with you now." he finished with a smirk that told Gokudera just how much it will not be fun for him. He grimaced inwardly at the unspoken promise of pain but still allowed himself to be led out of the cell once more, leaving behind a very confused and worried Yamamoto.

* * *

On the way to the room, Gokudera took his time to think about the events of the last few minutes, there was something about Yamamoto that just screams at you to take care of him and make him smile happily. Gokudera smiled softly as he thought of this, thinking that at the moment, there were very few things in the world that would he wouldn't give in order to see Yamamoto happy. Takeshi, he corrected himself, he had not wrapped his mind over the matter yet, but he had to admit it felt much nicer to call the other one by his first name. To not act like they were strangers while they were sharing a cell together, getting to know each other with every day that passes by.

Some time later found Gokudera chained to the floor on his hand and knees. His hands were handcuffed and at the beginning he thought it was much better to be stuck to the floor than being hung off the ceiling but now, as Gamma was standing behind him, he felt more exposed than ever.

The Millefiore squad leader took the whip off it's place on the wall, believing it to be affective, and proceeded in beating the younger one just like he had done earlier this week.

For Gokudera, to be whipped again was not a nice experience, it felt even worse this time that the first was as his recently made wounds opened. The whip just kept coming, time after time, with no care for the torn bandages that were now uselessly hanging from Gokudera's shaking body. Gamma finally seemed to decide that it was not working, because he stopped so abruptly that the green eyed guardian still flinched at the expected pain that wasn't there.

The blond realized that this was not going anywhere, it seemed like normal torture is not going work on the kid. He really came to realize that even if he broke every bone in the boy's body he would still keep his mouth closed, the boy was just way too determined and loyal to Vongola for his own good. So he knew he would have to try going at it in a different direction, one that would scare the boy so much that he will forget his loyalties completely and will start caring for his own safety instead.

And he knew just how he could do that.

* * *

Back at the cell, Yamamoto was sitting on the bed with his back to the wall and his eyes closed in concentration. The rain guardian kept replaying the events that took place just recently in this cell, the weakness he felt while he was being held down as Gokudera was taken once more out of the cell but mostly he just couldn't stop thinking about the green eyed, silver haired boy's actions.

Yamamoto couldn't take his mind off the thought that the storm guardian's actions and words were completely selfless and protective. That just didn't fit Gokudera's image in his mind, but the fact was that it was exactly what these actions were. The Italian had actually said something like this before, something about taking care of him, but he didn't really think it meant anything other than to make him feel less anxious. Thinking more about Gokudera's self sacrifice, he realized that the other boy had practically asked Gamma to take him out. The thoughts just kept coming and changing, leaving him more confused as time went by.

He looked up as he heard the dreadful sound of keys unlocking the cell's door, almost instantly guessing that it would probably be for just another nasty and sick reason that the Millefiore had come up with. He knew that it was probably not Gokudera, as much as he wished for it to be true, because he doubted they would return him this soon. The thought that perhaps it was the food being brought was scratched out almost immediately after appearing, because the last meal was brought not too long ago, one hour at most.

Looking expectantly as the door opened, he saw the two guys from earlier, the ones that he had already recognized from seeing at least one of them almost every day at this last week of captivity. The both of them, large and intimidating, approached the bed and took hold of the rain guardian from both sides. Yamamoto kept quiet the entire time as they led him out of the cell, half hoping that he was being brought to where Gokudera was now.

His hoped were crushed however, when he was pushed into a cell almost identical to the one he was just removed from. Well, almost. There were two major differences between the two cells. While the size of the cell and the bed were the same, there was no window but the cell actually had a sink and a toilet situated at the corner. The door was closed and locked and he assumed this was supposed to be his new cell. The absence of the window was making him uncomfortable, he suddenly felt so closed he couldn't breathe and had to sit down on the bed to calm himself down.

More than anything else, Yamamoto was worried about being separated from Gokudera during this change. He didn't know if he could handle being all alone, if he could manage to survive this place without the other boy's presence.

Gokudera was strong and as much as Yamamoto didn't want to admit it, he needed him, during their time in the cell he became dependent on him.

"It's not the same,  
as we had been taught,  
Like in the book we had read,  
when we were still good kids.  
Now the anger,  
is getting to our heads.  
And now it's the time to demand,  
whatever seems to be ours,  
to be returned."

* * *

Gamma had just finished making the necessary arrangements. He sent the two guards to the Vongolas' cell with orders to relocate the rain one to another cell. The rain had caused a flood in most cells at the dungeon, and he had no desire to walk through endless puddles just to collect a prisoner for interrogation.

Ordering the guards away had another reason, because now he was left alone with the Vongola. Therefore, he was free to use whatever means he deemed necessary in order to break that annoying spirit the boy had displayed without being interrupted meaninglessly. Not that those lower rank family members were in any position to question his methods, but he preferred it much better this way.

Directing his attention once again at the younger one, he walked slowly around the boy until he stopped right in front of him. He lowered himself enough so he could look at the he boy's face, that was now aimed at the floor in concentration. The boy's entire body was shaking with effort to keep himself from falling face down into the floor, it was astounding how even with as much pain as he probably was in right now he could still not admit defeat, not to mention start spilling family secrets.

Roughly grabbing a hold of the front of the boy's hair, which was covering his face, Gamma pulled the young guardian's head up so he could take a better look at him. The boy's eyes were closed tightly and his face was mostly pale, probably from blood loss. With more observation Gamma noticed that blood was flowing from the kid's reddened and swollen lips, he had most likely bitten them in order to stay quiet, he mused.

"I'm giving you this one last chance, don't ignore it, this is your one last chance to start telling me everything I ask for." he said in a low voice, almost growling the words, "If you start talking now, then maybe I will change my plans for the next phase in this interrogation, but don't expect me to stop if you refuse and later regret not taking this chance."

Gokudera struggled to open his eyes and look at his captor, every part of his body hurt and he really didn't want to know what could be worst than this. But it didn't mean that he was giving up. He was the Vongola's storm guardian, the tenth's right hand, and he just couldn't give in to Gamma's words and actions. Not even if it could really make things easier on him. So he answered with a hoarse voice, the only answer that he would not regret later, when the pain was gone and the war was over,

"No chance in hell, foxy!"

Gamma, not at all surprised by the boy's fortitude, let go of the boy's hair, making it fall down weightlessly without the pull, and got up. Walking around the boy, he once again lowered himself to the ground, this time however, in a much different position. He was on his knees, balanced so he did not heed his hands to hold himself, bending over the boy's backside, his chest pressed to the younger one's back without caring about the blood staining his black outfit. As he placed his right hand around the Vongola's waist the boy's breathing stopped, but it didn't stop him.

He pushed the boy's pants and boxers down roughly with nearly no difficulty, the boy had no doubt lost a bit of weight during his imprisonment, and took pleasure in the shudder he received from the body under him at the cold and exposure. Taking his time, he traced his unoccupied fingers to the boy's side, making him anxious and frightened the longer it went on. His fingers finally stopped at the Vongola's entrance and he noticed another unintentional flinch from him as he realized what was going to happen.

Gokudera felt a finger forcing its way into his entrance, and tried to move away from it but he couldn't. He was not only chained to the floor but also extremely overpowered by the older guy in his current starved, weakened, cigarette deprived and partially anemic state.

Gamma took his time and felt absolute pleasure in taking his time to make the boy more and more terrified by the minute. Sliding his finger in and out with excruciating slowness that the boy was surely not comfortable in, he added another finger. Once again feeling satisfied by the younger one's reaction, he was finally having fun. He retrieved his right hand from the other one's waist and once more pulled the boy's hair, this time from behind, and whispered in his ear, "Suddenly wishing that you took the chance I gave you earlier, aren't you?"

Not letting go of the boy's hair he suddenly remembered something that he heard the the taller Vongola saying a few days ago. Something about the storm guardian's hair being silver. He had to admit, the boy was pretty attractive and his hair definitely was a nice sight, such a rare and special color, also very soft and silky, he just couldn't let go of it.

Gokudera on the other hand, was not really in a position to think right now. He was trembling with uncontrolled fear and pain. He couldn't believe this was happening, anything was better than this! Gamma hurting him like this, he never thought this could happen, not even here, but it was and it hurt. The feeling of being stretched in such a place was alien to him and it felt so bad, making his insides crawl. A burning feeling and even more pain came as gamma started pushing a third finger, not stopping before pulling all fingers back a bit and pushing them painfully again and again, spreading them forcefully every now and then.

But then it all stopped.

The fingers stilled inside of him for a moment and then abruptly pulled out completely, accompanied by the retreat of the hand that was in his hair and at last, the body that was up until that moment pressing against his own. Gokudera, who had no more strength to hold himself up, slumped to the floor with relief and hopes that it was over.

Looking wearily over his left shoulder back at Gamma, he saw him discussing heatedly with someone he hadn't seen before. Every few sentences, the older one cast a look at Gokudera's shivering body and then looked back at the stranger. Finally, he nodded and drew closer to Gokudera.

"Something came up, and it seems that we have to stop at this point. You won't be as lucky next time." he said with promise, "And don't be mistaken, we _will_ finish this some other time." he finished, right before he walked out of the room.

Gokudera felt a wave of relief wash over him and he closed his eyes. Knowing he is going to be fine for now he allowed himself to embrace the darkness that kept calling him so many times these days.

* * *

As Yamamoto was singing peacefully, the door was suddenly opened and Gokudera was thrown into the room, landing on the floor harshly.

The taller boy collected the smaller one in his hands, being extra careful not to drop him accidentally due to his broken hand, and gently carried him to the bed. He had meant to leave the boy alone on the bed to give him the time he needed to wake up peacefully, but as he tried to step back and retreat from the bed he was caught in an unexpected embrace. Gokudera was pulling him to the bed and with no other choice he gave up and settled next to the other one, facing him.

This way they stayed for hours until after the unseen sunset. Gokudera ended up cuddled in Yamamoto's arms, that got there sometime after he fell asleep watching the other's sleeping form.

When Gokudera finally woke up, he was terrified. He pushed Yamamoto off the bed, waking him up in the process, and backed as much as he could to the wall. His body was practically scriaming at him to stay in one place, but his instincts took over and made him react this way. He shakily told the dark haired one to stay away from him and had tears in his eyes. He was trembling all over and looking completely petrified.

Yamamoto, surprised at the sudden attack, took a few steps back. Soon enough, he saw that Gokudera had realized this was Yamamoto and would probably not attack him once again in his confusion and what seemed like fear. Deeming it safe, Yamamoto slowly made his way back across the room and sat at the edge of the bed beside Gokudera as the latter tried to calm himself down, breathing heavily.

As he saw that his friend was more focused, Yamamoto asked him to tell him what happened, what would make him act this way but Gokudera just kept shaking his head no and rocking himself back and forth on the bed, still no completely relaxed.

When Yamamoto gave up on finding out, actually he didn't really try much because it was obvious that this was not just a small issue that would pass but a real problem they would have to deal with soon, he tried to comfort Gokudera by telling him that it's alright and he is safe now. That there is nothing wrong with crying when he is upset and needs to let it out.

Soon Gokudera was in Yamamoto's arms, crying almost silently, and Yamamoto rubbed his back just as he remembered his mom used to do for him in the past. "It's alright, it's only me here with you and with me you can cry." the rain guardian whispered softly over the other boy's sobs, "I know how strong you are, don't worry, everything will get better." he said. Yamamoto took a deep breath and started singing with a gentle voice that made the boy in his arms relax. Listening to the enchanting music that filled the cell, Gokudera allowed himself to fall asleep.

"Like water dripping from the ceiling,  
it's not the same.  
Our love that grew cold,  
it's not the same.  
Getting drunk and acting stupid,  
at your sister's wedding.  
It's not the same,  
like letting a tear go.

"It's not the same,  
other than the longing,  
for something peaceful.  
For a song from the not so distant past,  
that everyone sings together  
until the fear disappears.

"It feels so good for us to fall asleep now,  
together."

* * *

Six a.m again, people!(actually, a bit closer to 7, but that's not really important... =\) Don't know if you've noticed but this one was longer than the previous ones, much harder to write as well, damn thing took me three nights in a row and some time in between to finish! Not that it wasn't fun, just tiring, I think I'm starting to think in English and that's just weird!

On another note, be happy! Because I'm taking a trip to Italy with a friend of mine, I will not be able to either write or update for a week and a half. Now, I'm sure you're asking yourself why _you_ should be happy, I know I should, but you also have a reason. You see, because I know myself, I decided that it would be better to not delay the next update until after the trip, I just know that if I did that it would take longer than two weeks. So what I'm trying to say is, that the next chapter is going to be up sometime in the next three days.

Expect something unexpected! Bye bye :]


	6. The Moonlight

People, after working non stop on the chapter in between the trip arrangements, I'm proud to say that here it is! The extra fluffy-"Blanco: Getting to know each other while trapped in a cell with no windows"-edition, or in other words, chapter 5,

enjoy.

**Blanco: Chapter 5 - The Moonlight**

* * *

_When god created darkness  
__he also created a moon for us,  
__so that it could be seen how lonely we are.  
__He hung the moon high,  
__so we won't be able to touch it,  
__but there are some that still attempt to._

* * *

'This... what the hell was this?! This was a fucking huge something, and it just kept on growing!'

Gokudera and Yamamoto were currently in a state of shock. Why, do you ask? Well, that takes us back to roughly two weeks ago...

* * *

It was approximately two days after the 'incident', as Yamamoto came to call it in his head, because then everything changed. For the last two days the silence in the room was nerve wrecking. Gokudera was quiet for most of the time and only talked when it was absolutely necessary, even then it was nothing more than only short sentences here and a couple of words there.

Yamamoto decided it was better to wait for Gokudera to open up about the incident himself, there would no good from pushing him to tell about something he truly didn't want to talk about at the moment.

For two days, they have managed to avoid any sort of conversation even though most of the situation was the same. The only difference between 'now' and 'before' is that now they were just inside the cell. No one had come to take either of them for questioning and even if it felt a little unsettling, they were glad. They settled for finally sleeping in the same bed without even needing talking, as it seemed that since that particular rainy night Yamamoto decided it would indeed be better to cooperate with Gokudera in this aspect.

It was sometime between the two meals that the mood in the cell took a different turn, when suddenly Gokudera decided to try being honest with his cell mate. The first words to come out of his mouth were the ones that the both of them had withheld from what little bits of talks they had.

Yamamoto just sat on the bed, with his eves fixed on Gokudera, as he listened to his friend who was talking for the first time in two days. He listened as the Italian told him about what Gamma had done to him, about how he couldn't believe it could really happen even in here. He told him of how much he was afraid and scared and about how for the first time in his life, he felt so utterly hopeless. That not even when being alone in Italy, with no friend or family to be there with him, he felt this way. Finally, he told him about the last two days. About how disappointed he felt at his weakness, at the fact that he could be reduced to something so pathetic that was definitely not part of his character.

When he finished talking, Gokudera could actually understand the relief Yamamoto had felt after he told him about his life. After a few minutes, he mustered enough courage to lift his eyes and look into Yamamoto's eyes. He searched his eyes and expected to see disappointment or maybe even disgust, but all he could see in those dark and enticing eyes was sympathy and acceptance. And at that moment, he finally realized something he should have realized since they got stuck in this base. He realized that he was lucky that he was locked here with Yamamoto and not just anyone else, because only Yamamoto was special like this.

* * *

After about a week they were both thoroughly bored. True, they were talking and no one was tortured, actually, other than the food there was no interaction with the outside world, but other than that there was nothing. While trying to find ways to pass time was difficult, they told each other about themselves.

Yamamoto told Gokudera stories about his childhood, about school and lying to everyone. How he wished to become someone who could always be optimistic and could smile genuinely everyday.

Gokudera told the taller boy about Italy and about his life there before his mother had died. About the people he got to know there as he wandered by himself when he had no one else and how he met the ninth Vongola boss who finally gave him a place to call his own. How Reborn invited him to Japan and he met Tsuna who gave him more than he could ever wish for. A family. Perhaps if referred to in normal terms, it would be an extremely dysfunctional one, but from his point of view it was more than enough.

In order to pass time without going crazy, the both of them started switching between sharing stories to playing any game they could think of that would work in this environment. Using all their creativity they managed to play anything from simple word games to imaginary baseball. It was pretty ironic though, that the both of them were now doing the things they could only dream of when they were younger.

Now however, they were telling each other jokes, it was Yamamoto's turn.

"Two grains of sand were walking in the desert, then one of them whispered to the other "Hey... I think someone is following us."

"..." Gokudera looked at him in shock for a moment until he burst laughing. "Whaaaatt?" he said, "That's so stupid!" his uncontrolled laughter partially betraying his words, blame it on the aftereffects of the previous jokes, the one with the plane was just brilliant!

"Of course it is, that's why it is so funny!" Yamamoto said, also laughing, "Your turn." he said, bouncing in his place with impatience, this was so much fun!

"Okay, okay." the pianist said, thinking for a moment.., Well, if they were in the stupid jokes zone now, he should utilize it, right? "Okay, just stay quiet! Now, how do you get a crocodile into a matchbox with only a book, binoculars and tweezers?"

Yamamoto pretended to think for a moment, trying to stop himself from laughing at the stupid question. "I don't know, how?" Actually, now he was curious, how does that really work out?

"You take the crocodile and read the book to it, then you take the binoculars, turn them around and when you look at it, the crocodile will be much smaller than it was before. Then you take the tweezers and use them to put the small crocodile into the box."

Yamamoto couldn't stop himself anymore, he started laughing so hard. Not as much from the jokes but mostly because of Gokudera's newfound behavior and sense of humor. How could anyone guess that all it took to make the other boy act this way was to lock him up for more than a week with nothing to do other than communicate with his cell mate. He suddenly felt so lucky he got to see this side of Gokudera. It seemed that there actually were some advantages to this situation.

"Your turn."

He heard, and looked at Gokudera's smile while he thought about another joke. Somehow, the jokes level kept on deteriorating as the time went by. "Oh fine," he finally said, "I got a good one."

"There was this one fat guy, and he stood right outside a kindergarten. So there was this lady that came out of the kindergarten and asked him 'Excuse me, are you expecting a child?' and he said 'No, I'm just fat.'"

Gokudera laughed in mostly relief, even in this state he couldn't delude himself that the joke was funny, it's just that he felt so relieved to see Yamamoto like this, so happy and full of life. They both needed this reprieve from their captivity, from other people and from the war. From everything else in this world. And right now they had no worries, no fears, they just felt so happy, unknowingly they made each other happy by showing their own joy. Even though they were still imprisoned, it wasn't as bad for the last week as it was before that. Now they were just spending their time together.

"Hmmm" Gokudera thought, they were on a row, "Three people were going through the forest, then they met a witch...."

And they continued this for the entire night, stopping only to tell each other things they remembered during the conversations. Sometimes they would laugh so hard they felt like there was no air in the room, but they pretty much got used to the feel of it as it was inevitable without the window. The only air to ever come into the room and allow them to breathe came from an air vent that was near the door. Even with this though, they would have the feeling of suffocation every now and then.

They were getting along with each other so well. Without noticing they were becoming close friends. So close that they knew almost everything about each other and accepted every part that they did know wholeheartedly.

* * *

_Kids are flying.  
__Blue and purple spheres  
__and the light that escorts it is dropping.  
__It's the moonlight.  
_

_When god created darkness  
__he also created a moon for us,  
__s__o that it could be seen how scared we are._

_The kids disappear.  
__Pages in the newspapers  
__and the light that escorts it is dropping.  
__It's the moonlight._

* * *

One morning Gokudera when woke up, he felt Yamamoto lying in his arms just like every morning in the last two weeks. He immediately knew the rain guardian was awake and followed his gaze that was currently settled on the wall. "Good morning" he said, to make sure the other knew he was awake and would not be surprised when he looks back to see him with his eyes open. It had already happened, hilarious but the lasting damage was just not worth it.

"Oh you're awake," the other said, "Good morning." he finished, and as he closed his mouth his face went straight back to the wall.

Gokudera, noticing Yamamoto was once again looking longingly at the same spot on the wall where the window was in their precious cell, just couldn't hold the question in anymore. "I just don't get it," he said.

"Don't get what?" th other asked, genuinely confused.

"I can't understand why you are so attached to the window. You were like this back at the other cell always looking at it, day and night, first thing in the morning and just before you fall asleep. Now there isn't even a window but you are still acting this way. I just don't get it, there is air, and even if there isn't sunlight we can still survive it, why do you look like you _need_ this window?"

"Because it gives me hope." the taller one answered simply, "Because I would look at it and instead of thinking about how bad our condition is, I think about how good it is going to feel when we are outside, don't you feel this way too?"

"Not at all," Gokudera answered truthfully. "All I could think of when I looked at it was about how hopeless we are and how caged I feel." he said, "I believed and still am that they put the window there as another form of torture. To look through the window and see the outside is just in front of us, so close we can literally touch it but in reality we can't actually be there." he explained in defeat. "Every time I looked at it I thought about the rest of the family and about how there are just the two of us here with no connection to them, it made me feel so isolated."

Yamamoto looked at him and for the first time since this conversation started he felt as if he really understood Gokudera. Their thoughts were so different but that was what made it all the more interesting. Different point of views and yet both of them could be accepted by the other.

"I see, I can understand you, but still I wish there could be a window here." he said. "If only so I could have something that can actually change from time to time to watch because it's so boring in here."

"What, am I not interesting enough?" he said jokingly, feigning a dejected look on his face. "I think you just broke my metaphorical wings, I don't think I could ever metaphorically fly anymore." He said as his hand covered his face with fake despair.

Yamamoto looked up at him and burst laughing almost immediately, who would have thought Gokudera could act this way? Gokudera joined him in the laughter soon enough. It seemed that every time one of them was laughing, the other would soon automatically follow.

After both have calmed down Gokudera looked up at the other boy with a sincere look on his face, "No but really, I get your reasons, there should be at least a window. I may be able to choose to ignore the window if it's there but you can't make the wall just break in order to make a window especially for you."

"I wish I could though." he said with a wistful look on his face. He then looked at the wall once more but this time with determination, and Gokudera fell onto his back in his laughter as he did this, just imagining how it would look like with if all it took to take the wall down was one look from Yamamoto.

His laughter was cut short however, when a really loud sound erupted from the other side of the wall in question, accompanied by small cracks that seemed to appear on it as if it was about to collapse.

Both moved away from the wall in extraordinary coordination and watched as the wall crumbled to pieces and dust covered the entire cell. The two guardians looked at each other as the dust dissipated with dumbfounded expressions smacked on their faces, not even registering the voices calling from the outside. Finally, Gokudera was the one who broke the silence and spoke, disbelief and shock evident in every word that came out of his mouth,

"Holy shit, I think you just willed a wall to break down."

* * *

_the kids are passing turning points.  
__The parents are blue and purple  
__and the light that escorts it is screaming.  
__It's the moonlight,  
__it's just th__e moonlight._

* * *

Well.......... I don't have anything to say...

Just joking of course, I always have something to say :P

So, next chapter is going to be written and uploaded as soon as I can. Obviously, 'as soon as I can' in this situation should be interpreted as 'in a week and a half, when I get back home, I will start writing the minute I have the spare time and hopefully finish the chapter and update it in more or less three days'.

In other words, next update should be sometime around two weeks from now. And yes, the first part was from the next chapter :] (Also, could you guess what really bust the wall? And no, it was not Yamamoto's unhard of superpowers...)

Now that that's organized... I think I should go have a meeting with my suitcase, before it will start thinking I'm neglecting it and won't come with me to Italy =\

I wish you all the very best, and see you in two weeks! Ciao :]


	7. We Don't Need

Hi! I'm back from Italy, it has been great and I had so much fun there :]

It feels really good to be back home though, I still can't believe that I went a week and a half without my family, my computer or my car. Even more, I can't believe I actually missed a week and a half of news. (Yes, I'm one of those people who are addicted to the news. But really, who could blame me when I managed to be oblivious for almost three days when a war broke and only realized it when a drill was taking place and the alarms were going off...).

This chapter and some of the following ones are going to need another warning, so read this one before the chapter:

**Chapter warning: Implied noncon. It's mentioned, but not described. **(More info at the end of the chapter).

Two more things before the chapter:

1. Thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to review after reading the chapter. It makes me feel so much more confident in my writing :]

Now, about the whole cookie issue. I know for a fact that I had an invisible cookie jar somewhere in my room. The cookies were so tasty, and I would have given you one even if you didn't guess right, but I can't seem to find it anywhere... =\ (As for the guesses, you will find out real soon whether you were right or wrong...).

2. You probably noticed, but I use song titles for the chapter titles and parts of the songs themselves in the chapter. I figured that instead of doing an individual disclaimer to each song, it would be much better to just write a generalized one for all, just so there won't be any misunderstandings:

Disclaimer: I own none of the songs that I use in the chapters or for the chapter titles.

**Blanco: Chapter 6 - We Don't Need**

* * *

_Our eyes have already been dried of tears,  
__and our mouth had already been left mute of sound.  
__What else can we ask for,  
__tell me, what else?  
__We have already asked for almost everything._

_Give us rain in it's due time  
__and scatter flowers for us in the spring.  
__And let him return back to his home,_

_we don't need more than that._

* * *

'This... what the hell was this?! This was a fucking huge something, and it just kept on growing!'

Gokudera and Yamamoto were currently in a state of shock. Why, do you ask? Well, it probably had something to do with the sight that greeted them as soon as the dust that spread around the room dispersed and they looked at what was now the remains of one of their cell's walls. Only that other than the wall itself there was a strange, large, round object that apparently was the cause for the wall's collapse in the first place.

Once they managed to gather themselves and snap out of their shock, both boys could see a figure making it's way in their direction. This figure was in fact a person both of them could recognize. An older looking version of him, true, but there was no mistake who it was. The grown up boss of an allied family, the reliable friend they had both come to know in the past was now approaching them with a sheepish look on his face and a hand rubbing at the back of his neck restlessly.

This person that even after ten years, looked almost the same as they knew him. The same blond hair and the same carefree voice could only belong to one person. "Bucking horse!" Gokudera exclaimed in shock.

"I'm sorry guys, I'm really sorry, didn't mean to startle you." he said nervously. "It's just that we came down here and everything was soaked and Enzio fell down. A mistake in all honesty, but apparently a good one because I was able to find your location much faster than expected."

At first the words didn't make much sense in the boy's heads, but then both guardians did a double check on the huge object that was still located at the same place it was the last time they saw it. That confirmed the object's undeniable resemblance to Dino Cavallone's pet turtle, Enzio was it?

They were both taking in the amount of damage done to the cell by the animal as Dino's voice made them once again look at him.

"We have been fighting for almost three weeks now, I guess this place is really secluded..." he murmured to himself the last words. "The fight started about a week and a half after the two of you were captured. The tenth Vongola boss ordered a rescue mission as soon as it was discovered where the two of you are being held."

After a quick calculation in his head Gokudera looked up at Dino's sympathetic face with disbelief showing across his features, "But that's four and a half weeks! How? It didn't seem _that_ long, that's more than a month!" he said. "And what do you mean when you say you have been fighting for three weeks?"

"There had been many obstacles, one of which was the operation of enemy illusionists that made most of our infiltration attempts futile." the Cavallone said seriously, "We have been camping outside while fighting constantly against the black spell's troops." he explained.

"Is everyone here? The tenth and..." Gokudera stopped talking as Dino shook his head no.

"The rest of the tenth generation guardians are currently fighting the real six funeral wreaths with the help of some of the surviving family and allies." he said, "I came here accompanied by some of my men as a support to the Varia, they are the ones doing most of the fighting."

"Xanxus is here?" the storm guardian asked, surprise written all over his face, "With the rest of the Varia?"

"Yes, as soon as the existence of this base was discovered, the Varia was contacted and sent here." Dino confirmed.

"We should start heading out now." he said carefully while looking at the ruined cell, "There are still fights going on in here and I doubt this destruction won't attract any attention."

* * *

They had been running for many minutes now, dodging enemy attacks while climbing their way to the outside. They passed through many corridors in this maze like base with Dino at the lead and Gokudera and Yamamoto following closely behind.

They managed to enter another corridor when suddenly another wall collapsed, this time by what seemed to be real explosives. The wall crumbled, taking some of the ceiling down with it, and made the trio stop for a moment to check once more whether their path was still as safe as it was before. Dino seemed to deem the route secure and gestured to the two guardians to follow.

During the distraction, Yamamoto who was at the time following Dino together with Gokudera, suddenly felt a presence behind him. He tried to look back and see who it was but could only catch a glimpse of the bright blond hair of his captor before he was subdued. The surprised gasp that came from his mouth at the realization of just who was standing behind him was suppressed by a strong hand that pulled him towards his captor's chest.

Yamamoto, knowing that he was being separated from the other two, tried to call for their help but he was already being dragged into an entirely different corridor than the one they were heading to. The hand covering his mouth was effective in blocking his cries for help and preventing them from reaching the two allied Mafiosos.

Using all his strength, he crashed his elbow harshly at the assaulter's ribs and separated himself with all the force he had from the other man as the hold on him was loosened. While trying to find a way to get together with his friends, he looked around and attempted to decide just what corridor he should be heading to. 'This was the one last push', he told himself as he started running through one of the corridors with hope that this one was the right one. He was thinking that that's it. The family had come to their rescue, he was almost free now, just a bit more effort and they could get out of this cursed place.

The rain guardian was running as fast as he could because he couldn't even try to deny the fact that he was in no shape to face Gamma in his weakened condition. Not to mention that he didn't even have his sword with him and could only hope that the others had any idea where their weapons were hidden, if they hadn't already been destroyed. Gamma was on his heels, and soon enough his worries were confirmed as gamma caught up with him almost effortlessly, a punch in his stomach made him still almost immediately and he found out he couldn't even put a decent fight against the blond.

Gamma easily dragged him by the hair all the way across some of the identified corridors and he knew just where he was being taken to. He tried resisting just like before, now there was nothing to lose, no one else to get hurt because he was selfish, Gokudera was safe with Dino and he had to find a way to get back to them. He couldn't do this if he just gave up.

His resistance was futile though, and soon he was faced with the same door he had seen just once before, and it was not a pleasant experience.

* * *

_We have already been hurt by a thousand scars,  
__we hid a sigh deep inside.  
__Our eyes are already dry,  
__please, tell us that we passed the test._

_Give us rain in it's due time  
__and scatter flowers for us in the spring.  
__And let us see him once more,_

_we don't need more than that._

* * *

In the meantime, Gokudera and Dino were looking for the missing rain guardian. As soon as they noticed that he was not following they stopped the escape and headed back, concluding that he was probably separated from them some time around the wall's explosion. Gokudera was especially cursing himself over and over for falling into the feeling that they were safe and let his eyes leave the inexperienced Vongola.

The Vongola and the Cavallone quickly settled into a fast pace while wandering almost aimlessly through the corridors in search of the second Vongola. In their search they were mostly quiet and only spoke to each other in order to discuss a certain direction and whether it was getting them closer to the missing boy or much further than they should be.

All this time, the fighting was still going on. Explosions and clashes could be heard all over the place and destruction was evident in almost every corner and after every turn. They came across Bell once, and just like with Dino, the storm guardian could recognize him on the spot despite the ten year difference. He was fighting some Millefiore mafioso that Gokudera couldn't recognize and was obviously on the winning side. Not looking for any delays, the two of then continued on their way down the corridors until Gokudera managed to recognize the certain pattern of hallways he remembered being dragged through.

Gokudera immediately suggested the white room, and took over leading them through the many corridors. He led Dino through some of the corridors he remembered for some time until they finally came across the large, dreadful white door that haunted his memories. Gokudera stopped.

"Could you wait for me here, please?" the younger one said, looking up at the older one with a pleading look that he was not used to having on his face. Usually he would just act but this time it was crucial to assure himself that he would not be followed. "I know what could happen here and I don't think he would appreciate if someone else would see whatever state he is here now." he said, knowing that he was thinking of the worst consequences there could be but he just couldn't help it.

Dino seemed to understand the claim Gokudera made. He was a boss after all, _he_ was the one that had to order some things to be done and knew the results that appeared after the acts and the effects they had on the victims.

Looking directly at the bright eyed boy, he nodded "I understand." he said. "Go ahead, I will wait for you here. Just don't take much time if he is there, collect him and get out as soon as possible."

The minute his request was approved, Gokudera was already halfway through the door with only a short nod to indicate that he had indeed heard the other's statement.

As soon as he passed through the door, he wanted to run away from there but yet still kept himself planted to his spot. He saw Yamamoto passed out on the floor, half naked and bleeding. This sight that greeted him shattered him and he almost forgot how to breathe. With no thought he rushed toward the still figure that lied on the middle of the room and automatically checked for his pulse and breathing, verifying that the other was alive.

He couldn't find too much relief in this knowledge as the severity of the situation kept pounding in his head, this sight of his best friend, yes that's right, best friend. The sight of him lying on the cold floor, without half of his clothing, the sight of the fresh blood and other substances flowing from his best friend's body. This undeniable evidence together with the heartbreaking tear tracks on the pale cheeks was unbearable.

A loud noise from outside the room brought him back to his senses. Now was not the time to deal with it, they will have time later, after they got out of here. They had to get out of here.

Gathering the taller boy's clothes, that were scattered on the floor, in his hand's, he carefully put them on him and quickly checked for more injuries before lowering himself down and wrapping his hands around the other boy, not at all feeling strange at the contact he had gotten so used to during this time in captivity. With one hand supporting the dark haired boy's shoulder while the other one was positioned under hi knees. He stood up with his friend in his arms, careful in every move that he made, and straightened himself.

The Italian looked down at the sleeping boy in his arms, into the sleeping face he had seen every morning and every night in the last few weeks. When he took the first step towards the door he realized that for all the height the other boy had, he was absolutely weightless when it came to it. He let it pass and continued his walking, feeling as if every step out of the room brought the both of them closer to freedom.

Gokudera kicked the door open and saw Dino standing outside the room, waiting. When he passed through the door, Dino looked up at him and offered to help but he insisted on carrying the Japanese out of the base and back into safety.

The entire way to the outside went almost unnoticed by him. There were no major encounters, not too many difficulties with finding the way out now that they had their original goal in mind. To get out of here.

All Gokudera could think about was the boy in his arms that he had come to care for so much, about his safety and health. He had to remind himself all the time, all the way, like some sort of mantra that kept him going. Had to remind himself that they were safe now.

They were free.

* * *

Not much talking in this chapter, but it was necessary. Trust me when I'm telling you that some really interesting conversations are going to take place in the next few chapters.

*In relation for the warning at the beginning of the chapter -

I had this thought that it might be too much to put the really descriptive GammaXYamamoto I had in mind in this chapter. First I thought that I might use it in some flashbacks, but now I got another idea.

Perhaps I could write it as a one shot that is related to the story, what do you think? Would it be better?

This idea came from another one that I had in mind that had been there almost from the time I started writing this story, and it's about writing a side-story that describes what Tsuna and the rest of Vongola were doing during some of this time.

And once again I ask, what do you think?

Last thing I have to tell you is about the updates – good news actually - I have from now until mid April almost free of everything. Which means I'm going to update much more frequently than I already am. I thought it would be better to just tell you this instead of telling you each chapter when the next update is, you could just expect it in less than a week unless I mention a change for some reason.

Bye bye


	8. Our Way

**Blanco: Chapter 7 - Our Way**

* * *

_A storm took place, it passed  
__and your face is once again as calm as the sea.  
__With the light we'll continue walking further away,  
__yet the road is long, the journey still hasn't ceased._

_Our way is not easy, no it's not  
__and your eyes are so doleful sometimes.  
__Many flourishing fields are still ahead of us,  
__more tall mountains with icy summits._

* * *

"I feel like a vampire."

Dino turned momentarily to face Gokudera with amusement plain in his eyes. "What?"

"The sun." Gokudera explained plainly as he blinked continuously while looking down. "I can't stand to look at it, too much light."

The Cavallone looked at him strangely for a moment before he understood the reason the other felt like that and went back to leading their way out of the base's territory. This time however, he took the sun factor into consideration and slowed down the pace for a while just until the storm guardian could become accustomed to being outside.

It was pretty obvious actually. For someone that had not only not been outside for almost a month, but also judging by the isolated cell they were found in, hadn't seen the sunlight, not going out gradually must cause an unpleasant reaction. And going by the way Gokudera reacted this probably was an understatement.

"We are getting closer to the area where everyone else are fighting." Dino said in concentration, this time he looked ahead and scanned right and left for either enemies or allies. "The most important thing is that we do not stop." he said, turning sharply to look at Gokudera who was paying close attention to every word he said. "If it's an ally then it's probably one of my men that would direct us where our escape car is waiting. If it's an enemy then an ally should be right there to prevent him from stopping us while we make our way out of here as fast as we can. Understood?"

"Understood." the Vongola confirmed. "Just give me a moment."

Gokudera adjusted his hold on Yamamoto so that he would not fall accidentally while they are walking. He wished he could carry the taller boy on his back so that the way out would be much easier, but he deemed it too risky. Most if not all of the other boy's wounds were placed on either his stomach, chest, face or hands. The meaning was that carrying him in a position that would put pressure on the wounds was not a good idea. So he arranged the rain guardian's hands so they were laying on his stomach and this way would be less likely to be injured any worse. He assumed the position from earlier with his hands supporting Yamamoto's knees and shoulders while he tilted him slightly towards himself so that not all the weight would be placed on his hands.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you with carrying him? You must be tired." Dino stated. "You already carried him all the way up here."

"No thanks." the younger one said. As unreasonable as it was, he wanted to be the one to carry his cell mate for almost a month out of their prison. "I'm fine now. Are we going?"

Accepting the answer but not without doubts, Dino pointed the direction they were supposed to be heading to and with fast strides started leading the other Italian towards the only path they have to get through to get out. Through the battlefield.

Destruction and mayhem was all over the place, explosions and screams were the most distinct sounds around and blood was seeping into the ground underneath their legs. Gokudera willed himself to focus only on Dino's back and not on what was going on around them so he won't be distracted.

Currently, a Cavallone that had made his way across the field to get to them was showing Dino the escape route that will get them away from there in the fastest way possible. A car will be waiting to get them out of there as soon as they left the base's area.

Going with the fastest pace they could manage, Gokudera and Dino made their way through battles of various Varia members with the Millefiore's black spell Mafiosos. The storm guardian could barely keep up but still pushed himself with the promise of taking care of his partner. He could swear to himself right then and there that he would forever remember the moment he looked up and saw the luxurious car that Dino's men arranged for them to get away with. The moment he could literally touch freedom and take a deep breath so he could say that it was almost over.

With one of Dino's men driving, the Cavallone boss took the front seat near his driver, this left Gokudera and Yamamoto with the back seat. After he helped the Vongola's storm guardian with laying the other boy carefully on the back seat he took his own and ordered his man to start driving. He looked back at the storm guardian, who was currently trying to position himself in a certain way that would not disturb the taller boy's sleep.

"Gokudera." Dino called, drawing the young guardian's attention and making him look at him in question. "My driver says that the drive is going to take about thirty minutes. First, we drive as far away from this area as we can until we get to neutral territory and then we would have to stay somewhere for the night until we get the confirmation from the Vongola headquarters that it is safe to go back there."

"Safe?" the storm guardian asked. "Isn't the whole point of the base is that it is safe?"

"That's not what I meant." Dino explained with an assuring smile, "_We _need to be careful that we do not get followed." he said carefully. "If we head straight back to base from here then we are risking exposing it's location to the Millefiore."

Gokudera looked at Dino, "I see." he said, but truly he couldn't care less. What's another night out now that they were actually _out_. Then he looked at Yamamoto and a thought came to his mind. "Hey, Cavallone." he said.

"Hm?" Dino inquired without turning to look at him.

"Do you maybe have a first aid kit around here somewhere?" he asked, thinking that this was something normal for someone to have one in his car, not to mention a Mafioso.

Without answering Dino starts rummaging through some boxes and drawers that were situated all over the vehicle. In the meantime, Gokudera slowly surveyed Yamamoto's new injuries. Besides the obvious, which he cannot treat not only because of their location but also simply because of his lack of knowledge in the subject, all wounds were visible. He first took a look at the black haired boy's face, an action he tried his best to avoid ever since he got out of that room with the other boy in his arms. It was hard for him to look because of all the pain that was showing, the dried tears and the blood mixed together. The rain guardian's face was completely smeared in blood and as he thought he couldn't take the sight much longer his gaze lowered a bit so that he was looking at the other guardian's chest. He noticed that some of the bandages were torn by what looked like a knife that made some new wounds as it cut through.

"Here." Dino said as he handed him the first aid kit. "Tell me if there is anything missing that you need, there might be more around here."

He thanked the blond without tearing his gaze from Yamamoto as he took it and opened it instantly. He examined it swiftly and was glad to notice that this one was much more advanced than the one they were given at the cell. Figures.

The storm guardian was glad, now that they were out and the had time he could at least clean the other boy's wounds and bandage them. This was the most he could do before the other could get a real treatment by an actual doctor. This would be successful in preventing Yamamoto from having to lose more blood than he already had lost though.

He worked silently on ripping the ruined bandages and replacing them with new, clean ones after disinfecting the wounds, both new and old. By the time he was finished with the entire chest and shoulders area he was thoroughly appreciative of the new kit. Then, he proceeded to clean Yamamoto's face from all the blood that was covering it. He took a towel and a bottle of water that were also in the kit and dragged it carefully across his friend's face. Once most of the blood was removed Gokudera had to stop for a moment as he grimaced at the cut that was embedded on the boy's chin, that became visible without all the blood that had probably come from it. He remembered the Yamamoto that was from the future and he knew for a fact that he had it too. 'So this was when he got it?'. He thought bitterly to himself. Apparently yes.

After roughly twenty minutes of driving Dino turned his head to look at the two guardians and told Gokudera that they would be staying at a hotel in the neutral part of the town while waiting for the approval from headquarters to head back to base so that they are not followed.

Gokudera only nodded wearily and tried to keep himself awake by running his hand softly in Yamamoto's hair with calming motions while looking through the closed window with no particular aim.

* * *

It was night, and they have already gotten to the hotel. Gokudera was currently taking a much needed shower and Dino was doing some paperwork while watching Yamamoto. It seemed that mafia bosses can't take a break even while fighting and the paperwork followed Dino all the way through a battlefield. The driver handed him the folders, that as it turned out were sent by Dino's right hand man who was left to watch over the rest of the Cavallone family while their boss was away.

Without a care to his slowly healing wounds Gokudera Hayato was now having a real shower. The only showers he had back at the cell were by using the sink and with Yamamoto just a few meters across the room it was as awkward as it could get. Those 'showers' didn't even come close to a real shower, the hot water luxury with soap and everything. He thought he would treasure this moment as this was one of the things he used to fantasize about in the cell when he thought about getting out, but his head was stuffed with so many different thoughts right now that he couldn't really focus enough to just savor the moment. Moreover, he felt that he couldn't really feel the joy of this shower until he would know that Yamamoto was alright and able to share this together with him.

Okay. The last thought didn't come out as it was supposed to. 'The shower was just symbolic!', he snapped in his head at no one but himself.

But it was true, he had this feeling that he just couldn't accept this bliss of being free unless Yamamoto was there with him. After all, the both of them had been locked in that cell, not just him.

When he got out his gaze immediately drifted to the bed at the far end of the hotel room where Yamamoto was lying, still unconscious. Gokudera had actually started thinking the other boy might have gotten hit in the head or something to make him stay passed out for this long, but he tried to keep himself from worrying by telling himself that he was breathing by himself and that tomorrow they will be able to get him to a doctor. It was so frustrating that they would have to wait to get to the doctor to know what was happening with him but this was the only option they had amidst all this chaos.

The three were currently staying in a hotel room Dino's men arranged for them to stay in for the night. The two rooms nearby that were the closest to it in the corridor were occupied by Cavallone Mafiosos that Dino called for further protection.

The suite they were staying in was a large one with one big room that had two beds, one on each side, it had a door that connected it to another room, a smaller one with one large bed in the middle of it. Dino suggested that Gokudera and Yamamoto would take the large room and he would sleep in the other. He knew that it would probably be fine for the two to share a room after they shared a cell for much longer than one night. What with the possibility that the taller one would not even wake up this night combined with the care that the storm guardian was showing towards his friend, Dino doubted there would be any problems from this decision. The bathroom was attached to the large room and it also had a small kitchen that was probably meant for longer stays.

Gokudera had finally finished wrapping his own bandages, with a small difficulty at doing this himself as he got used to relying on Yamamoto's help.. But then again, he had to learn how to do it by himself more or less because for the last two weeks or whatever Yamamoto could only help him with one hand seeing as the fingers in the other's were broken and thus completely useless. Dino called him to sit with him before they go to sleep.

The discussion they were having at the moment included mostly details about how the rest of the Vongola family and the allies were doing during the two guardian's captivity. There was not much but the basis that Dino had already told him: The family found out that there were six funeral wreaths who aren't the ones they had been told about. Irie Shouichi was actually on their side and exposed that they were brought to the future not only deliberately, but with an entire plan that wouldn't make the Millefiore suspicious. The rest of the tenth generation were now away from base while fighting the real six funeral wreaths and Byakuran in a game called 'Choice' that he still hadn't gotten much of it's rules. Other than that, there were some new people in the picture but he just couldn't seem to be able to make his mind work anymore. Dino probably noticed because he stopped the conversation and made to get to his room.

The Cavallone boss stopped just one step from leaving the main room and turned to Gokudera with an unreadable expression printed on his face.

"Gokudera, I have something to ask you, and please don't take this personally." he said carefully, making a confused expression appear on the storm guardian's face. "It's just that I have to ask now rather than be caught unprepared later. I know Gamma had been questioning and torturing the both of you for information."

Gokudera didn't like where this was going but said nothing as he felt no accusation in the other's tone.

"Now, I know what it's like, mostly, because I am the one that gives orders to take actions like these, it's necessary." the blond continued, "But I need to know, during those times, have you said something that could be helpful to the Millefiore?" he finished with much difficulty.

'Have you told all the important secrets that could possibly kill us because you couldn't keep your mouth shut under pressure?' a small voice in Gokudera's head translated for him. "No." he said plainly.

He looked up at Dino and with determined eyes told him, "I wouldn't be the tenth's right hand man if I let something like this risk the lives of my family and allies." the blond smiled with respect at the young guardian and Gokudera could tell with pride that Dino didn't doubt his words for even a second.

"Well, about the rest, we will get to know more when we hopefully get back to base tomorrow." the Cavallone concluded and with a nod of goodbye stepped out of the room to get some sleep.

In the main room, Gokudera was having trouble falling asleep after he took his place in the comfortable bed. He thought that the moment he allowed his body to fall asleep it would do so instantly, but even with the soft bed that he had waited to sleep on for weeks and the plan that they had for tomorrow he couldn't seem to just let go of consciousness. He just kept looking toward Yamamoto's side of the room and hoping that he was going to be alright, that he would just wake up and everything would be alright.

It took a while, but his body seemed to get the message that said quite clearly: 'You are tired, go to sleep already.' And his body finally gave in, it just felt so heavy. His eyelids were closing and the more it happened, the harder it was to open them again and again and look up until he just couldn't open them anymore and his world became black with a much needed sleep.

* * *

The next morning Dino woke up early, he walked into the main room and looked between Gokudera and Yamamoto with sadness and grief in his eyes. Each looked as if they were just sleeping peacefully, but if you looked closely you could tell exactly where the both of them were rescued from. With Yamamoto it was the most obvious as he looked extremely pale which made the cut on his chin even more conspicuous. Even though with Gokudera it was not as obvious it could still be seen. The tense posture and partially malnourished figure that could be noticed as the covers were thrown off the bed sometime during the night.

He glanced at them continuously with the only thought he couldn't help but think that those are two were far too young to be involved and that they shouldn't even be here.

The once clumsy boss noticed that his thoughts were straying from the safe course, the one that was labeled as reality. He made up his mind to wake Gokudera up, and let Yamamoto sleep as much as he needs. Even though he had his suspicions it couldn't be completely natural, he doubted the rain guardian would wake up even if he did try to wake him up. Only god knows how much pain he was in and with no painkillers available, because all were used up during the three weeks of fighting, this could be the best option for him to deal with the pain for now.

"Gokudera." he called, a bit loudly so that it would wake the boy up. It seemed to work as the guardian immediately got up and looked around nervously until he spotted Dino and relaxed. "I was contacted by headquarters a few minutes ago. We are cleared and can go straight to base from here."

The joyous expression that appeared on the young ones face said it all as they made quick arrangements to leave the hotel. Everything seemed to be happening much faster today than it was the day before and by the time they got out of the hotel's lobby and into the street, a car was already waiting for them with an identified driver inside.

It didn't take as long as Gokudera thought to get to base, but he recognized it once they stepped out of the underground parking lot that was attached to it. The base really was huge, but he couldn't bring himself to be excited at the thought as he carried his fellow guardian to the stretcher that was brought before him. Softly and with much care, he placed his friend on it and let out a breath he hadn't even been aware he was holding.

He looked up and saw two people he recognized, one of them whom he was extremely relieved to see standing in front of him. Basil he didn't know much even back in their own time, yet he could still recognize him. But the one he couldn't help but look at expectantly was Doctor Shamal. By the serious look he had in his eyes as he did a quick check on Yamamoto, Gokudera could guess that he wouldn't just leave them without treatment because they were men. It seemed that he was a real doctor after all.

As he wordlessly followed the stretcher and the doctor across the hallways, some distant part in his mind made a point that neither Reborn nor the girls were anywhere to be seen. Actually, the entire place seemed almost devoid of people, 'What had happened to this place while we weren't here? Or had it been like this before and we just didn't notice?'

It seemed that Shamal and the others had taken them to the infirmary. Gokudera was told to stay still while Shamal, who seemed to be the doctor in charge went to treat Yamamoto because his situation seemed to be much worse. The storm guardian had no objections to this and stayed on the bed he was placed on though he didn't even try to fall asleep.

Now that he was separated from Yamamoto he couldn't relax at all. Not even when he reminded himself that it was for a good reason that he couldn't be with the other at the moment. Even though they were now in safe territory. Maybe because he was so used to having him around or maybe simply because he had to see for himself that the other was awake and at least physically fine before he could let go of some of his tension, but all those were guesses.

The green eyed boy hated it, but he just had to wait for them to return Yamamoto back to him.

* * *

_Silvers of light in your tears  
__and a smile feels it's way to me.  
__All the best parts are still ahead of you.  
__Lay your head on my shoulder,  
__entwine your hand with mine._

* * *

Yamamoto woke up in a daze and tried to focus his eyes on one spot but it seemed he didn't have that ability at the moment. He closed his eyes and tried to sit up on the bed to make it possible for him to actually see something other than a ceiling, but he couldn't seem to manage that either. The rain guardian concentrated hard and opened his eyes while looking down at himself, he was able to catch the sight of a needle stuck in his arm and his first guess was that he was rescued.

The Japanese boy heard a noise to his right and with a bit of effort managed to look and focus on one Doctor Shamal.

"Is this a dream? Am I dreaming?" he asked drowsily, whatever was affecting him was affecting him _hard _and even his words didn't come out clearly. He just hoped the doctor understood him.

"You better hope you are not dreaming." the doctor said with amusement clear in his voice, he just couldn't stop himself. "What would you be dreaming about me for?"

"Where?" the swordsman asked, this time more confident that he would be understood.

"Answers to all of your questions, as fast as I can." he said with a tone that told Yamamoto he would only say this once so he better listen. "Vongola base, the young tenth generation is out fighting, Dino Cavallone and Mafiosos of his family brought you here, Gokudera Hayato is in the other room, waiting. I am in charge of the infirmary and what staff we have here, you were out cold for almost an entire day because you were drugged the last time you were hurt. Yes, I know everything. No, I do not like guys."

At the confused look on the guardian's face he sighted and said seriously, "The way you are feeling right now will pass soon." he pointed at the needle that was stuck in Yamamoto's arm. "The IV is meant to dilute the dose of the drug you were forced to take and soon it will be out of your system completely. Then the dizziness will stop.

"In about half an hour you will be taken to the main part of the infirmary where you will stay until I say that you are better. That also goes to your friend, you will be staying together." he said "Before we leave this room I will give you some painkillers that will help you get through the night as peacefully as possible without taking any 'drastic measures'.

"Both you and Hayato have suffered injuries that ranged from shallow surface wounds and scratches to deep cuts that would probably end up scarring the tissue. What makes the wounds from all ranges problematic is that they are all in danger of being infected. The both of you will be give antibiotics that you are expected to keep taking until I tell you to stop.

"Another issue is malnutrition. While you were given food that would be enough to keep you alive, it would not have been enough to keep you functioning in the long run. Hayato told me that the two of you were moved to a secluded cell that had no sunlight and were staying there for most of the time. This makes another problem because the two of you are currently suffering from deficiency of Calcitriol, which is the active form of vitamin D. You will be now put on a diet that will have everything that your body needs in order to heal itself as fast as possible.

"These are the injuries the both of you have in common. Hayato had already been told. As for your individual treatment.

"Four fingers had been broken at one point and even though I could see with the X-ray that was taken that two of your fingers are in the process of healing the right way thanks to the reduction that was done. The two other fingers however, have started healing with a slight deformity that could be problematic in the future, especially for you who need your hands at their best in order to use your weapon. The easiest solution is a surgery, that will help set the bones in their rightful position. My guess of why it didn't work the first time was because you didn't have the equipment needed to accurately perform the closed reduction. The surgery has no risks if done professionally and I can assure you I am a professional.

"The last subject I'm afraid I can not help you much with. I can only treat your body, I have seen cases like yours and there's nothing I could do to help you deal with it mentally. Though sexual torture is not common even in the mafia, it still exists. The wounds will heal in time and until then you will still be given the painkillers. Are there any questions about anything I just explained or any other subject?"

At the lack of response he took the opening to ask his own questions that only this boy could give that would help in his treatment. "I'm going to ask you some questions now, is that alright with you?"

Yamamoto nodded uncertainly and waited for the questions to come.

"Now, during your time at the cell, was yesterday the first time you were drugged?" Shamal asked and waited for the boy's answer.

"As far as I know, then yes, the only possible..." and the answers and questions kept going on for some time. Every time Shamal would ask Yamamoto a question, he would wait patiently for the answer. As the time went by, the guardian's voice began sounding more and more focused and clear until he felt that the effects the drug had on him was almost completely gone.

Half an hour had already passed by the time they finished their conversation and Doctor Shamal got up from his chair to help Yamamoto off the bed. He took the boy's hand and put it around his own shoulder to support him as they walked.

"Wait." the younger one said before leaving the room. "Are you going to tell anyone about my... condition?" he asked with a wave of insecurity washing over him at the thought of someone other than Gokudera knowing.

"Doctor-patient confidentiality." the doctor said simply, reassuring him as he started walking once again. "I am not allowed to unless you wish for it."

He led him back to the room that Gokudera was currently staying in and Yamamoto could feel a warm feeling in his chest when he saw the relieved smile on his friend's face. He couldn't help but feel a little relief himself at the fact that for the first time since he woke up he felt something that wasn't fear, insecurity, nervousness and confusion.

Without a word, only looking intensely at Gokudera, his eyes almost never leaving the green eyes that were staring right at him, he lied down on the bed and got under the covers with a bit of help from Shamal.

Even as the doctor talked, none took their eyes off the others, but he didn't even seem offended, just amused. "The both of you should be getting more sleep." he said. "There are buttons near every bed that could reach me and I will be right there when called. Tomorrow we will have the results of the blood tests and proceed from then with what hadn't been planned already."

Before he left, he took one last glance at the two boys. His face softened and he looked at Yamamoto, then his gaze strayed on to Gokudera as he said, "Its good to have you back." with a small smile. He looked at Yamamoto. "Both of you. I will do my best to take care of you."

"Now go to sleep."

With that the door was closed and the two silent guardians were left alone.

The both of them in a room together, each looking at the other but saying nothing. After some time passed Gokudera decided that right now, thinking is not healthy for the both of them, especially Yamamoto. And silence encourages thinking, so he had to break the silence.

"Takeshi." he said, drawing the other back from his thoughts.

Gokudera kept his eyes open and went straight to the point, the sooner the better. "You haven't mentioned what really happened there to anyone, right?" he became concerned as Yamamoto shook his head in knowledge of what he was talking about, he hadn't met anybody other than Shamal and even when he would meet other people, he didn't want to tell no matter who it was.

"The doctor knows, that's what important." the rain guardian justified.

"But everyone..." Gokudera started, but was cut by Yamamoto's reasoning.

"...that we really know aren't here and even then they shouldn't know about this." he said seriously.

After a quiet talk of convincing from Yamamoto's side, in which he told Gokudera various reasons why he shouldn't ask him to tell about this to anyone, the main reason being that he 'didn't want to worry everyone about things that had already happened and they had no control over.'

"Is this why you haven't told anyone about the way you used to live?" Gokudera asked in final acceptance, knowing that he would never pressure the other boy to do something he didn't want to do.

"Mostly..." came the weak answer. "I'm used to hiding my real emotions."

Gokudera noted the word _real._ He just couldn't help but think that Yamamoto was right, he could fool anyone before, and had years to practice. The best actor. He could fool everyone now without breaking a sweat.

The two boys were once again laying quietly on the two separate beds. Both felt uncomfortable. Gokudera felt cold,unsettled and distant while Yamamoto didn't feel safe without the arms he got used to falling asleep in when they were wrapped tightly around him.

At some point, Gokudera looked at the other and saw that he was still awake just like himself. He smiled softly and pulled the blanket a bit and moved a bit to make space on the small bed. Without saying a word he invited the taller boy to get in the bed.

Absurd, ironic or whatever you would call it, that after three and a half weeks together, more than two of which they had slept together on the same bed they would want to stay this way. But right now it was real and the both of them needed the reassurance that what they shared in the cell hadn't changed just because they are free now. The promise that they could still count on each other to be there when they wake up the next morning.

Gokudera pulled Yamamoto closer to him after the boy climbed on the bed and covered the both of them with the blanket. The Italian wrapped his arms tightly around the scarred boy and ran his hand through the soft black hair. "It'll be alright. Everything will be alright." he whispered softly. "We will deal with this together, I'll help you get through this." he felt Yamamoto nod slowly against his chest and relaxed a bit at the acceptance.

Gokudera fell asleep with a sense of calm that he missed the night before as he listened to the soft and almost silent singing that came from the rain guardian's mouth,

"Soon the candle will cease dying,  
soon the blessed silence will be defeated.  
The day's tumult will begin to emerge,  
you will not walk alone, I'll be there with you."

* * *

Wow, can't believe I just pulled all this medical stuff like this. Haven't had much practice in it for almost a year now. It really does pay to learn medicine three years through high school... (Not that it wasn't fun by itself ;]) -Getting it all in English was a nightmare though-

I hope that my depressed mood hadn't shown **much** in the chapter... I really had to think twice before writing just after my beloved football team lost the derby =\

Thanks for the reviews, see you soon :]

Bye bye.


	9. Everybody Talks About Peace

**Blanco: Chapter 8 – Everybody Talks About Peace**

* * *

_Everybody talks about peace,  
__nobody talks about justice.  
__For one it's heaven for the other it's hell,  
__how many fingers are pulling the trigger?_

* * *

It has been two weeks since Gokudera and Yamamoto were brought to the Vongola base. Two weeks since Dino and the Varia made the joint effort to get them out of the enemy's base. Two long weeks they spent recovering from the injuries they suffered during their imprisonment by the Millefiore.

The guardians' wounds were tightly bandaged and already healing without any complications thanks to the antibiotics they were given daily. The doctors pointed that there would be scars left, but both Gokudera and Yamamoto didn't take it as bad as the staff thought they would. The simple explanation was that both had been sure that this would be the outcome since the very moments those wounds have been inflicted on their bodies. Some of Yamamoto's wounds needed to be sewn, but these ones as well were in the process of healing.

The surgery Yamamoto had to take took place two days after their arrival and the results have been positive. The surgery went as planned and was successful in making the slight disfigurement disappear. Now that the two fingers were fixed, they could be allowed to heal, properly this time, just like the other two had. All he had to do was wait until his fingers were healed completely and he could use his hand again without risking any damage to the fragile limb.

It hurt Shamal as a doctor and a person to look at the two young Vongolas and see the changes that those two have gone through. Mostly because other than heal their wounds there was no one he could refer them to until the fighting would stop. The base was locked, no one coming in and no one going out. Dino and his men, together with the Varia and several allies have been residing this base for the last two weeks but none of them had any of the qualification needed to help the boys recover entirely.

While Shamal was aware of most changes and difficulties the boys were going through, other people noticed one thing that was obvious enough. Ever since the day the two were brought back to base, they hadn't left each other's side. They would go almost everywhere together and separating them for their treatments and check-ups was a real struggle. The care those two boys were showing each other was extraordinary and left anyone who knew who those two were in complete shock. Shamal was the one who got the first shock when he went through the door to wake them up in the first morning after the rescue and saw them sleeping in each other's arms. The shock was short lived and empathy took it's place once the two explained that they had gotten used to sharing the bed since there was only one bed in the cell they were locked in and the both of them had to use all the time they could to sleep and recover.

Shamal had known Gokudera for a long time and immediately noticed the change in the boy's behavior but wasn't too shocked by it. Some sort of change should always be expected in cases like this. Actually, the change was only as drastic when he was near the taller boy. The Italian wouldn't raise his voice and would always project calm and confidence in the other's presence. When the other one wasn't there though, he would yell at the nurses and wouldn't allow anyone other than Shamal to get closer to him.

Although he didn't know Yamamoto as personally as he knew Gokudera, Shamal knew from what he saw of the boy in previous times they met that he always used to smile. Always had this carefree attitude no matter how bad the situation was and always made everyone's mood better. This Yamamoto on the other hand, was in an entirely different state. He would still smile, but only when Gokudera was by his side. He was closed and didn't allow anyone to know what happened to him other than those who already know, namely the storm guardian and himself. Due to no evidence on his skin and him not allowing anyone other than Shamal to check him up and treat him, no one of the staff even had the chance to know. No one of the staff knew how to make him open up or if they should even try and even Gokudera wasn't an option because he didn't really tell much about their time inside the cell so he would not to break Yamamoto's trust in him.

He really was wishing that there was something he could do to help the two boys return to the way they were before, but there wasn't. He just had to wait patiently and see if they could get through this by themselves.

* * *

Gokudera Hayato was partially proud of himself. He managed to make it to two weeks of freedom without feeling the need to smoke a cigarette even once. Why was he only partially proud, you ask? Probably because the only cause that made him quit smoking in the first place was that he was locked up involuntarily in a cell with no cigarettes at all. But it still counts, right? After all, he hadn't smoked even once since he got out.

He had a discussion with Yamamoto about the subject earlier this week. When the other boy asked him if he started smoking again the storm guardian was surprised and told him that he just didn't feel the need for it anymore. Even a few days later, when he remembers the conversation, the Italian could feel the pride welling in his chest. This was the first time since they arrived in this base that he made the rain guardian truly smile.

Gokudera didn't know how the others saw it, but from his point of view the tall boy was acting perfectly well and therefore succeeding in confusing everyone else over and over. He acted as if nothing had happened and that, more than anything worried the caring storm guardian. No one could go through something like that without having some kind of breakdown but Yamamoto was showing no signs of it yet.

He was afraid that the pressure would just pile up the more time passes and then break out in one moment when they least expect it.

Today though, Gokudera was extra nervous. Today there will be some unexpected yet welcome changes done to their usually normal daily routine they had been following ever since they were rescued. And although this particular change was a good one, this may also cause the rain guardian to feel even more on edge. Today they will finally be faced with the normality that they have been waiting for for over a month. Today the rest of the Vongola's tenth generation were arriving back at base.

Right these moments their friends and, as they learned long ago, family, were making their way back after defeating the Millefiore's main force, Byakuran and the six funeral wreaths. The two recovering guardians didn't get all the information about the battle nor did they care much as long as everyone were safe and healthy, and they were. The enemies were caught and put under watch of the Vendiche prison and now everyone were able to return to base as it was surrounded by nothing but peace.

Gokudera had his doubts, that everything was going to be alright but he still allowed himself to hope that seeing the rest of the family would help cheer Yamamoto more than his regular and unsuccessful attempts that not only didn't cheer him up, but also brought his mood down even more than before because he could see how hard Gokudera was trying.

* * *

That evening, Gokudera and Yamamoto made their way from the infirmary after a swift chat with Shamal. The walk was accompanied by a nervous silence that was caused not by anything that happened between the boys, but because of what awaits them when they meet the others. They finally came across the door leading to the dining room and immediately felt the tension rising as they heard the noise that came from inside. The family was celebrating.

Earlier that day, they were told by Basil that the others haven't been told that the two of them were brought here, they didn't know they were safe. It was a difficult decision to make, but during the fight it was difficult to communicate between the base and the field without having the enemy listen to the reports.

The both of them were now standing right in front of the entrance to the dining room, the door was closed, waiting for them to open it. The sounds coming from the inside seemed to weaken as the two guardians shared a look that showed the other without words what they were feeling right now. The nervousness and fear of being left behind. The need for acceptance and the difficulty of taking this one last step. All these emotions and thoughts were evident on both their faces, together with the mirrored concern and care they felt for each other.

Deciding to take the initiative, Gokudera took Yamamoto's hand, the one without the bandages, in his and entwined their fingers together with a look that projected all the protectiveness and concern he felt for his friend at the moment. And with the support he needed to keep moving, Yamamoto lifted his bandaged hand slowly and carefully to the door's handle and pushed it open without much effort. Simultaneously, they took a deep breath and looked up at the people they have been waiting to see for what seemed to be more time than they could possibly take.

The silence that fell on the room the moment they stepped through the door made the Japanese boy to almost want to go back on his steps and return to the infirmary. The only thing that kept him where he was was Gokudera's hand that held his firmly. He unconsciously gave it a soft squeeze as if verifying that it was still holding his and almost as if Gokudera understood Yamamoto's need for reassurance, he gave a short but firm squeeze of his own to show the support the other needed to receive right now.

Gokudera could almost guess all the insecurities that were going through the other's head right now. The feeling that they have been forgotten and cast aside as the others took part of the active fighting. The fear that they won't accept their changes, that they won't understand their difficulties. Those were his insecurities as well. Yamamoto's individual ones were probably about the way he might react to the others. If his reaction was different than what they were used to from him and then they would be able to see through his already fractured mask.

A minute later there was a rush of people coming to greet them warmly and passionately. For a moment they lost all their insecurities and worries, all the concern and the shared pain. All they could feel was the warm feeling that they were at least not forgotten, at least they were still welcome.

Tsuna was the first to get to them,"Gokudera! Yamamoto! You guys are alright!" he exclaimed enthusiastically as he ran up to them. "Dino and Xanxus made it!"

Not even a moment passed and also Ryohei, Haru and Kyoko joined Tsuna in greeting the two bewildered guardians who, for some reason, couldn't manage to open their mouths and greet them back. The majority of people in the room was of people they couldn't recognize, not even from the last two weeks at the base. These were probably the allies that took the option of staying in this base.

Reborn, who was sitting on the young mafia boss' shoulder, examined the two boys carefully and asked quietly, "When were you brought back?" by this time, most of the room's occupants had stopped eating their meal to listen, the only exceptions being Lambo and I-Pin who were too busy throwing and evading their food to listen. "And how?"

The rain guardian, feeling a bit more encouraged and confident in himself by the warm display of affection, answered, "We have been staying here ever since Dino and the Varia helped us escape the Millefiore base." he looked directly at Reborn, the one who asked the question. "It's been two weeks since then."

For a moment, just a moment, the tall boy could swear he managed to see something akin to grief in the baby's eyes, but it wouldn't make sense. This was reborn after all.

"That makes it three and a half weeks then, right?" the arcobaleno asked. He didn't feel the need to explain the question.

This precise question made Yamamoto's mind halt for a brief moment and therefore, the other guardian answered it after sending a concerned glance at the other boy. He probably realized just now for how long they have really been secluded and imprisoned. Gokudera himself only realized it during their talk about his smoking when he took the time to understand just how long he had gone without a cigarette.

"Yes, that's right." he said seriously, his expression completely blank.

Reborn sighted gravely. It seemed like he had more questions, but thankfully he didn't ask them and just said, "I'm glad you guys are alright." he looked between Gokudera and Yamamoto. "The family needs all it's guardians to be complete because they are it's heart and soul."

With Reborn's concluding sentence, everyone seemed to snap out of their personal thoughts about the matter and soon enough the two boys in the spotlight found themselves sitting next to each other on the long table with dinner laid in front of them. Tsuna sat next to Gokudera and Ryohei sat next to Yamamoto, Kyoko next to Ryohei and Haru by her other side. In front of them sat Hibari with Hibird on his shoulder as he fed it ever so often and Bianchi next to him. Further to the side were Chrome and Mukuro with the two empty seats of I-Pin and Lambo.

The rain guardian didn't think he could actually eat with this many people watching him, so he settled on a small piece of bread until he could eat something more later on. He picked the bread with his injured arm, though unintentionally it was still possible when he had only two fingers disabled while the rest worked properly.

Ryohei caught the bandaged hand that reminded him a bit of his own and without thinking much ahead, asked loudly. "Why is your hand bandaged?"

The moment he heard the question, Gokudera sent a glare directly at Ryohei, who was completely oblivious. The room became quiet once again, but the storm guardian focused on his friend's reaction. Thankfully, Yamamoto managed to not make everyone worry by giving him a not very informative answer.

"Accidentally broke four of my fingers." he said slowly as he presented his hand in front of Ryohei so he could take a closer look, "But they are mostly healed, see?"

The sun guardian looked as the black haired boy moved two of his fingers without any apparent effort. The issue was abandoned as the rain guardian proved he was indeed fine. There were some skeptic looks sent his way though, Reborn's being the most certain.

Everyone went back to eating their dinner and Gokudera actually started to relax as he surveyed the room. Other than the tactless Ryohei, there shouldn't be anyone stupid enough to point possible torture injuries. Ones such as Yamamoto's cut. He soon found out that he shouldn't have taken his guard down as Lambo, of all people, opened his mouth in the most thoughtless statement one could have told them at the moment.

"What are you doing here? Octopus head! This is a celebration." the young cow jumped up and down on the table, drawing everyone's attention. "People like you who didn't fight shouldn't be celebrating! Go to your room."

The effect took place almost instantly. The small smile Yamamoto had on his face had been wiped off it as if it was never there. Gokudera ignored his own pain which was caused by the hurtful words in favor of looking at his partner's reaction the second time since they sat down. He managed to look just in time to see the rare, true smile leave the rain guardian's face and he wanted to cry.

'Lambo wasn't told where they were during the time the fight took place', he kept repeating to himself. Children are the cruelest beings. Gokudera quoted in his mind as he wondered why he wasn't as mad as he should be at the younger guardian. Hurt and disappointed, yes. But not really mad.

Perhaps this experience had changed him more than he thought it had, he knew for a fact that it had, he just didn't know how much. After a short thought he came to the conclusion that taking things in proportions was much easier now than ever before. What was a little boy's comment against the sight of Yamamoto's broken body lying on the floor?

A weak squeeze from Yamamoto's hand that was still held tightly in his brought his attention back to the taller boy. He had an emotionless, blank look on his face when Gokudera looked at him. His face was looking at the direction where Lambo was just moments ago, before I-Pin kicked him off the table while saying he should treat older people with more respect. The storm guardian understood the moment he looked at the tall one and got even closer than he was so he could whisper at the other's ear without anyone other than him hearing.

"He is just a kid." he encouraged, "He wasn't told anything about what the situation was, and still is, so I wouldn't take his words seriously."

The other looked at him and nodded in uncertainty, the color returning slowly to his face. If even Gokudera wasn't affected than he was probably worried by nothing. The rest of the family didn't think that way. Or so he hoped.

Hibari Kyoya himself, irritated by the lack of sleep and being in a crowded room with so many people he dislikes, looked directly at Yamamoto and said with as much coldness as he could manage, "The cow is right." he smirked in satisfaction at the surprise on the other boy's face. "Stop crowding, useless people should go away."

Before the overwhelmed tall boy could even begin to process what was said to him, another comment made it's way to his ear.

"Don't be this way, Kyoya." Yamamoto looked at the speaker and was surprised to find that it was Mukuro that said it. "It's not their fault that they are useless."

Hibari didn't say a word to that as he made to leave the dining room. He was done with all these people. It was bad enough that they asked him to stay here with all of them, he didn't need to spend his time around them as well. As he passes next to Yamamoto and Gokudera his eyes narrow when he catches a glimpse of the joined hands under the table. He continued walking as if he didn't notice and left the room. From now on, he would ask the food to be brought to him so he wouldn't have to waste any more time on noisy people.

Mukuro tried to keep taunting the two boys but stopped after Chrome told him to continue eating. She whispered something to him and he shut up without another look or word.

Gokudera was immensely furious. By the time Hibari left, he was already prepared to lung at him and tear his throat out so he wouldn't say anything like this to anyone again. He controlled himself, though, even through Mukuro's irritating remarks, because he didn't want to leave Yamamoto's side. He knew the other boy wouldn't let it pass even if this was Hibari's and Mukuro's regular behavior.

No, this time the rain guardian took it much deeper than the previous one. If Lambo could be forgiven only because he was a child that wasn't told anything, then Hibari and Mukuro's words couldn't just go away. They didn't have that excuse, they knew perfectly well where the two of them had been and exactly why they couldn't help in the fight.

He immediately turned pale and lowered his face gaze to the table, looking at nothing particular in his empty plate. These people were aware of the situation. Well most of it, but still, there was no way to justify the way they acted. The seconds passed slowly and when he couldn't take it anymore, he softly pulled Gokudera's sleeve with his bandaged hand and whispered about needing to get away.

Gokudera lifted his head a bit so that his eyes could meet Yamamoto's and he could see the distress that filled them, if the lack of color on his face wasn't enough indication of his troubled mind. He could literally feel the boy's mask crumbling and used his unoccupied hand to wipe a tear before anyone was even aware of it. Even the rain guardian himself. The action was left unnoticed as the rest of the room's occupants were too focused on the meal than at them, for them, it was a regular incident they have grown used to. The storm guardian could find no better time than this to take the other boy to a more secluded place where they can talk freely than that moment.

The only one to notice was Reborn, whose secretive smirk left one to wonder just how much of anything he truly knows.

* * *

_Sometimes life brings me to my knees,  
__there is no guard at the gate, no sign from above.  
__I see people who live, dreams and hopes,  
__people who live, only quarrels and conspiracies.  
__Some ask questions and there are no answers,  
__some are full of only complaints and demands, but..._

_Everybody talks about peace,  
__nobody talks about justice.  
__For one it's heaven for the other it's hell,  
__how many fingers are pulling the trigger?_

* * *

The two guardians went straight to the infirmary that had become their permanent room by the doctor's request, they had no objections. Gokudera had the foreboding feeling that the expected explosion is going to take place any moment now. Yamamoto paced around the room, nervously biting his nails for few minutes that passed since they arrived. All the while the tall boy said nothing.

"Takeshi." the Italian called, they had to deal with it _now_, no use in delaying the inevitable. "Tell me what's wrong, are you angry?"

The swordsman finally stopped pacing and looked at the storm guardian. His eyes were filled with so much suppressed emotion that the other boy wondered just how he could have managed to restrain himself from breaking down on their way back from the dining room.

"No, I'm not angry." he said. His voice breaking ever so slightly, making it known just how upset he was. "I'm frustrated. Because, the others are so happy that the war ended, that there is no more Millefiore."

Gokudera stood silently as he heard the words pouring out of the other boy's mouth. "That we didn't even get to fight _our_ fight, we deserve this win just as much, if not more, than anybody else." those words were the epitome of truth. "True, Tsuna from the future died, and the rest of them, us as well, lost so many people. But we deserve _this justice_! We goddamn deserve it!"

As soon as Yamamoto stopped shouting, all anger left him, just sadness filled his next words.

"It hurts that people like Hibari seem to forget that _we_ deserve this victory as well." he looked down at the floor, every word came out soaked with sorrow as tears slid freely down his face. "We need it to exist, to live on. So many people died fighting, but us? We got hurt, irreversibly, like damn caged animals for our keeper's entertainment! He didn't even need information from me! And they don't care that I was... I was... I'm not a..."

Gokudera caught the other's shaking body just as he slid to the floor and went down with him. He held his friend tightly as he cried for the first time in two weeks about the true anguish that filled his heart. The pianist could almost complete the sentence for the other boy. 'I'm not a virgin anymore'. He kept his hold on the crying boy, thankful for the lack of struggling and even more, feeling the other one moving slightly to fit himself to the embrace, taking comfort in the sympathetic warmth.

"I know." Gokudera whispered comfortingly, "I know and I understand you."

Yamamoto knew that he truly did, he wasn't just saying it.

"It's not wrong to think this way, you are right, and the others just don't understand it." the storm guardian was almost crying himself at this point, seeing the other one breaking down like this.

While looking from the outside, everyone would have thought that the strong one of the two of them was Gokudera. Mostly because of his normally explosive nature and unrelenting, prideful personality. But between the two of them, Gokudera had acknowledged Yamamoto's strength and knew the other boy was capable of taking much more than he himself believed he could.

And now, seeing the strong Yamamoto, the one that always put the perfect act to the outside world. That made all of them see him not as the person he truly was inside, but the person he wanted to be, and tried his best to become. Seeing him like this broke his heart and he cursed everyone for even planting the doubt in Yamamoto's heart that his sacrifice was not important enough. Because it was, more than they would ever know.

"But," Yamamoto started, his body shaking with suppressed sobs as he tried to voice the rest of the sentence.

"No buts." Gokudera said strongly, he would not compromise in this particular topic. "They should have known better than to insult someone that had just been brought back from captivity."

He looked at the other boy's tearful black eyes and with firm words expressed his only opinion on the matter. "I have said this once and I will say it again." the other's expression became attentive as he said those words. Finally, he was listening.

"You are not wrong," he said, "I feel the same way." he repeated.

The tall boy could not argue with that statement anymore, he could just accept it, "I'm so glad I have you." he said with all the sincerity he had. "You are the only one who understands, I never had someone like you before,"

The Italian chose not to think about those words too deeply at the moment and affirmed them instead, "That's right, I'm here, and you could trust me. I would never let you feel alone again like you felt in the past, I could never leave you after you put so much trust in me."

At the moment, the only thing he cared for was not about embarrassing himself or worrying too much to show his soft side, this was, after all, Yamamoto he was talking to, not just anyone. Yamamoto who had seen him at his worst. Yamamoto who helped take care of him during their time in the cell. The only one of his friends who could ever understand just how uncertain, not safe he felt during those times. No, he didn't care, what he cared about right now was calming the other one down as fast as possible. He didn't want to see him to go through another moment of heartache like this one.

"I trust you, and I care about you. I learned to care about you and you are important to me. You have no idea how much it hurts me to see you like this I want you to know that I would do anything for you. I will stay with you for as long as you wish me to." he said this with a small voice in his head that told him this was probably the most honest moment in his entire life,

"Thank you, Hayato." Yamamoto said between sobs. "It means a lot to me."

"Other than Shamal and myself, no one knows what really happened. Right?" the storm guardian concluded. "They have no idea, so it's partially our fault that they react this way because we _did_ try to mislead them about the real details of our imprisonment."

Gokudera could see the question in the other's eyes and explained, "You see, this isn't really their fault, but I would have trusted even Hibari to think about his words twice before he speaks them." he said thoughtfully, "Always so controlled. But it seems that when it comes to it, he can't find it in himself to know not to speak not in the right place."

Yamamoto could just nod weakly in approval and allow Gokudera to pick him up from the floor and lay him carefully on the soft bed. Without asking, the silver haired guardian positioned himself on the bed, right beside the other boy, and the other in return snuggled closer to his warm and accepting body.

* * *

What went unnoticed by the two embracing friends, was that outside the infirmary door stood a very remorseful and regretful Hibari, one that for once in his life had said the very wrong thing during the worst time there was. He, too, understood what Yamamoto's sacrifice had been, even though he didn't have nearly as much details and information about it as Gokudera seemed to have. But what he picked from the conversation was enough to make things more than clear.

For once in his life he knew he had done something truly wrong that even he could not justify doing, 'just pure cruelty' he thought. Really, he could expect this from Mukuro, but not from himself.

Feeling more disappointment in himself the more sobs he heard, he started walking towards the room he was given to stay in during his time in the base, to get himself back together. He had to think what to do about this, he couldn't just leave it like this. Even he wouldn't be _that_ heartless and insensitive.

The Millefiore was gone, everything should be just fine. But...

* * *

_Everybody has the same dream,  
__on top of a mountain, down the valley.  
Keep talking, talk about peace,  
__but peace will not reside without justice._

* * *

Chapter 8 – Done! I love this song so much, it has so much meaning.

I would have gotten the chapter up yesterday but my computer is dying and I have to switch continuously between my father's laptop and my computer. After I finished most of the chapter and saved it my computer shut down completely and I found out that everything I wrote was gone. The worst thing though was that it seems the file had been destroyed completely and when I saved the finished chapter the second time it didn't save it at all :[ So basically I had to write the chapter three times... On the one hand, it took longer. On the other hand, it's an improved version that has more than I planned on having (Think about it as the ultimate proof-reading. Like, proof-writing or something.)

Well, never mind. What's important right now is that the chapter is up now :] Thanks for reviewing by the way.

Happy Purim!


	10. Now You're Crying

**Blanco: Chapter 9 – Now You're Crying**

* * *

_I had a dream, about the end of the world,  
__Mother's sealed heart, iron fall.  
__Now you are crying, for me to be there.  
__I'm holding your hand,  
__and you are pale.  
_

_Look into my eyes,  
__see that it's true.  
__I need you._

* * *

Yamamoto Takeshi was currently lying on his side on the bed. He was looking at his precious sword that had been returned to him by Squalo himself not long after he and Gokudera were brought back from the Millefiore base. 'Here. I carried it all the way back so take it now before I throw it away.' the long haired Varia said harshly as he let the sword fall into the guardian's lap. He hadn't seen him since.

It's been an hour since Gokudera carried him to the bed but instead of crying himself to sleep, he let the other's soft breathing calm him down. Even though it seemed there was no problem for Gokudera to fall asleep this early, Yamamoto just didn't feel tired at all. He still kept the comfortable position though, he had already accepted the fact that it made him feel protected and safe to be embraced like this.

He kept his eyes open, not once did his gaze leave the form changing sword that was left unmoving by the wall days ago. The thoughts did not stop passing through his mind, over and over. Thoughts of the scene that took place earlier at the dining room were the most bothering. Thoughts about Hibari and Mukuro, about what they said. About the rest of their friends who didn't seem to notice the debate at all and just kept eating without a single word to oppose what was said.

These times, the times when everything is quiet other than the soft breathing of the guardian beside him. The times when there were no distractions. These were the times that he felt the most hopeless yet the most clear in his mind and true to himself ever. When it was only him and his thoughts alone in the peaceful silence. These were the times of conflicting emotions and thoughts, self convincing and encouraging. These were the times for arranging his thoughts and making peace with his emotions, convincing himself that as long as he had just one person who cared he would be fine and encouraging himself to keep going just one more step, one more day.

Thoughts about whether or not everybody else see the situation like Hibari and Mukuro do were going through his mind, even though he knew it was stupid to think that way. After all, their lack of reaction did not necessarily mean that they didn't care. Perhaps they were used to it and he would have reacted the same had the words not hit a sensitive point. So, if he was being truthful with himself, and he was, he would say that he was only taking it hard because of the words and not because of the way anyone else had acted.

The thoughts about Gamma and what happened at the room were always there, at the back of the rain guardian's mind, during every waking moment and through every hour of the night. He learned to simply push them as far as he could and distance himself for as much as he could. Because he had enough of these memories surfacing at night, when he couldn't deal with them and just tuck them away. He didn't think he could cope if he had to face them when his eyes were open, too.

Now that his thoughts were on the right direction or, maybe, as much as possible heading there, he had to think about his emotions. Not what they were or going to be, that would be insane, but how much of his emotions he should really display. Should he show the others his real emotions just the way they are and on the exact moment they come out or should he only continue with what he used to do before everything changed. When he just put on that same steady mask of the carefree character he aimed and hoped to be like.

When the doubt that people might actually see through his effortlessly made mask appeared in his mind, he didn't need much time to convince himself that the chances was of this happening were slim. It was not really a good thing that he was so sure in the fact that no one around him would look close enough to figure the act and expose him, but it was fair enough since now he had someone who knew. Someone, Gokudera, who was aware of everything that he was. Past, present and, surprising yet acceptable, part of his future. Someone who accepted and understood him more than anyone else. Someone he couldn't put on a mask with because he would see through it the minute it came out.

With this knowledge, these thoughts, hopes and dreams for the future it was much easier than ever to try encouraging himself to keep going. Not giving up on life like he did before. Not even coming close to it. There _were _people who cared, people who understood, and he managed to find someone like this. This, more than anything else made it possible for him to even look forward for a future. This way he allowed himself to hope for a better future without any second thoughts about what might happen or what could go wrong.

Appealing thoughts of letting go and falling asleep came to dwell in his mind as his thoughts stopped for one blissful moment. It was like the other's breathing served as a lullaby that pulled him closer and closer to sleep. And he would have done just that, had a knock on the door not interrupted him.

Yamamoto sighted softly and with slow movements turned around to face the peaceful Storm guardian. He had to resist the sudden urge to touch that perfectly shaped face and tried to still himself for the moment the other resident of the bed would open those amazing green eyes of him.

"Hayato." he called softly, feeling partially guilty that he was trying to wake him up after he got only one hour of sleep at most.. "Wake up, there is someone that's knocking on the door."

He turned his head to look at the door and half hoped that whoever was out there gave up on waiting and they could stay right where they were. The voices coming from the other side of the door told him that this was not going to happen. The hand that suddenly left it's resting place on his waist indicated the same thing.

The Italian was waking up and Yamamoto, as unwilling as he was, got up from the bed, turned on the lights and went to open the door.

Gokudera managed to sit up on the bed and look at the door sleepily in curiosity for who might it be. He tried, and failed to stifle a yawn as it landed on him and made him close his eyes with it's force. The next time he opened his eyes, he saw Tsuna, Ryohei and behind them the girls, Haru and Kyoko who each held a tray filled with food. It seemed like Yamamoto invited them in, because they made their way across the infirmary floor to the waiting couch as the rain guardian closed the door and followed them and signed for the storm guardian to do the same.

As he made his way to the opposite sofa and sat down next to Yamamoto, he listened to the reason for the other's arrival.

Tsuna was talking. "We noticed you didn't get to eat anything at dinner and we got a bit worried that you would be hungry by the time the kitchen closed." he shyly looked between his two friends and gestured at the trays that were now resting on the small coffee table that stood between the two couches. "So we brought you some food you might want to eat."

There was an unnerving silence that the young Vongola boss seemed used to as he waited for some sort of comment.

Gokudera was the one who finally responded to his boss' words. "Thank you tenth, for being so considerate." he said enthusiastically. "We just didn't feel comfortable to eat with so many people around us, right Takeshi?" he asked even though he already knew how Yamamoto's mind worked in terms of comfort around anyone, including himself. He had to know because then it wouldn't have been possible to live with the other boy, locked in a cell for almost a month.

"True." the boy agreed cheerfully. "For weeks I have only seen just one person in front of me, so I guess it's a natural reaction to feel strange when being surrounded by many people all at once, most of whom I don't even know."

'so he decided to put the mask on?' the storm guardian mused to himself. Of course, he himself couldn't judge the other's choice because he, as well, planned to reveal as little amount of information about their capture as he could. He didn't want to make the tenth worried or, dare say, guilty. He wasn't even there when they were taken and it's all already behind them. 'No need to dwell on the past', he justified in his mind.

"I guess it makes sense." Ryohei said, the others nodded in agreement ant consent over the approving statement.

'Yes. They bought it.' the silver haired thought calmly in his head. He didn't like to think of it as if he was hiding stuff from his boss whom he was supposed to tell anything, but the complete opposite. He was protecting him from the knowledge of the extent of their injuries. Protecting the boss _was_ one of the right hand's man after all. And not all protecting had to mean the physical kind.

"Um, Gokudera, Yamamoto, there is one more thing we were worried about." the shy boy started. "You see, this... there was this thing, that we were worried about. When you were, um, weren't here, what could, what?"

At that moment, Gokudera was wondering whether or not Tsuna could understand his own words. He looked at Yamamoto for some sort of translation, since the other boy seemed like he got the meaning of the question and was now contemplating how to answer.

"Don't think too much about it, Tsuna." the rain guardian begun. "We only saw Gamma for less than a week before we were left alone as the battle at the base started. We didn't know it at the moment, but Dino and the Varia were the ones that kept our captors busy."

After this answer, the storm guardian could piece the tenth's words to form that sort of question and decided to add a part of his own before the other's may feel the need to ask more about the subject.

"Don't worry tenth, twice they took me for interrogation and twice they gave up after realizing that I'm too loyal to you to tell them anything." he said with a convincing, proud tone. "We made them believe that Takeshi didn't have any information and they left him alone after they figured this."

"We are fine. Really, tenth, don't worry." he said with consideration after he was met with his boss' concerned look. He was relieved at the sight that the other released because it meant there would be no more discussion on this particular topic. He hoped that no questions would be asked about the whole matter of the first names.

Tsuna either understood or wanted to change the direction the conversation went to himself after his worries had been, not completely, put to rest. Because the question he used to break the silence had no connection whatsoever to the previous part of the discussion.

"So, uh, I heard that the Varia is also staying here." the brown haired boy said. The others who sat on that couch, Ryohei, Haru and Kyoko kept their silence but, at the same time, sent amused glances at the tenth Vongola boss, whose cheeks turned a bit bright. He still asked his question though. "Is that true?"

'There must be something there.' the silver haired guardian mused as he observed the unusual behavior of the teens in front of him. It was a good thing Yamamoto chose to answer the question, because Gokudera was too intrigued at the hushed words that were being passed between the four to process the words that started it all.

"From what we know, then yes, they are staying here." the rain guardian said slowly. He, as well, noticed the suspicious exchange. "But we haven't seen them much these two weeks because the only times we were allowed to leave the infirmary were so we could go to meals and they had never been at the dining room at the same time we were. Right, Hayato?" he said, and smiled a bit at the confusion the other was showing before he managed to get the words through his occupied mind.

"Well, yes." the referred to guardian agreed, feeling joy light inside him as he looked at the other and saw the small smile. "Probably following a different schedule or something. Why, did something happen with them?"

"You could say that." Kyoko said as she and Haru giggled while sneaking glances at the reddening boy.

"Tenth?" he asked, trying to make sense of the strange reactions the four had to each other.

"It's nothing, Gokudera, just nothing." the boy murmured at the curious query. "Wow, look at the time." the young boss exclaimed, even though there was no apparent watch anywhere. He got up and motioned frantically for the other's to follow. This, accompanied by the ever present blush seemed to make them laugh even more.

"We need to get going, there was this, uh, something. Yes! Something that, that called us to do him!" he said as he rushed the now almost hysteric trio out of the infirmary room. This action, together with the sound of the door shutting, left the two remaining guardians in confused silence, looking at the door.

"What." Yamamoto said, and noticed that in his confusion he had not completes the question. "What just happened here?"

Gokudera could only look at him with a dumb expression that practically said, 'I have no idea.' as he shook his head with slow, unbelieving motions.

The two were still seated on the comfortable couch as the shock wore from them, leaving only one question.

"Do you think we will ever find out?" the storm guardian asked his partner.

The rain guardian looked at the other and said with all honesty. "I don't know about you, but I don't think I want to find out."

The room was quiet, and all it took was a few minutes of silence and thoughts about what the rest have been doing while they were locked away to bring the mood down. Yamamoto's face fell and Gokudera couldn't help the thought that it's times like these exactly that make him wonder whether he could bring that silly yet cute and definitely contagious smile back the his friend's face.

It made him doubt that he would ever see that same carefree attitude that Yamamoto always used to display. He had many doubts that came and went through his mind constantly, but there was one thing he knew for sure. He knew that he had to keep on trying. If he gave up just because the effort seemed futile to begin with, but there was still a possibility it would work, he would never forgive himself. He knew that he would forever blame himself if he just left the situation the way it was without doing all that can manage to change it.

"I know what you are worried about." the storm guardian said into the silence. "It's weird that it comes from me, since I always used to have self esteem issues, but you really should give yourself more credit."

The other boy looked up at him and then let his face fall down once more, as if confirming the statement.

Seeing that the other was listening but keeping quiet, the silver haired continued, "No one really blames us, or you for that matter, for not being able to fight." he said. "You saw how they acted just now. Nothing about their opinion on us had changed during all this time we haven't seen them."

A bit of broken sentences and a forced smiles later, Yamamoto raised his hand to stop Gokudera from continuing his persuading. "Stop." he said as the storm guardian stopped and looked at him. "Whatever you're trying, just stop it. You don't need to cheer me up."

Gokudera wouldn't have it. His friend was falling into depression and he was still trying to act it out. Did he not realize this kind of act wouldn't work on him? Somewhere inside, the storm guardian felt a bit hurt at the attempt.

"You are hurt, and you might not notice it, but now you are crying and it hurts even more that you try to hide it from me." the black haired guardian lifted a fragile hand to his own face and passed his thumb across the soft cheek. He really was crying. "I know that you are suffering, yet you still try to act as if nothing is wrong." the other guardian finished.

Gokudera laid his palm on the other's lap and with his other hand wiped a second tear that fell down during his speech. He knew that now he definitely got to the other boy

"Let me help you."

He only got a short, hesitant nod in return, but it was enough. It was a start. They both spent the next four hours talking about all the messed up thoughts, all the confusing emotions and all the different subjects that just came up during the conversation.

By the time they looked at the watch that stood on the bedside table, the only thought the two had in mind was a shared thought.

'Doctor Shamal is going to kill us if he found out we stayed up _this_ late.'

* * *

_Do you remember?  
__I had a dream, that you are pale.  
__I'm holding your hand,  
__and you are free._

* * *

It was the afternoon and Gokudera was still trying to take Yamamoto's mind off the matter. It was difficult because whenever they would begin talking, the issues would just keep on coming and the various thoughts would begin swarming in both Yamamoto's and his mind. Now they were talking about the most relevant issue that seemed to disturb the taller boy immensely.

"Are you still thinking about it? About what Hibari said last night?" the storm guardian asked. He felt like some sort of a counselor and he truly doubted he would do this for anyone else. Maybe the tenth though.

"It's just that I can't get it off my mind, why would he say such things?" the Japanese asked in honest confusion.

"This is Hibari we are talking about. Really, there is no reason." Gokudera answered, sure of himself at that one. Hibari was just cold like that.

"Do you think everybody feels the same way?" Yamamoto asked with a small voice that tore through the Italian's heart as he heard it once more that day. The storm guardian had already accepted the fact that the other needed to ask the same question many times for reassurance. So he answered without thinking too much into the repeated question.

"Not really" he, as well as the other, really held on to each word. "You saw how it was earlier."

"But." Yamamoto began, and Gokudera had just one thought in his head.

'Hours have passed, hopefully we would come to an understanding soon.'

* * *

About half an hour of convincing later, Gokudera decided that he needed a break. Trying to persuade Yamamoto that people actually care enough to take their situation into consideration while he, himself, had his own doubts to handle was taking it's toll on him. The more the discussion went on, the harder it was to make the words coming out of his mouth sound convincing. The harder it was to find more excuses for everyone else's thoughtlessness. The harder it was to look at the depressed eyes and say that everything is just fine. The other boy would have surely noticed it had he not stopped his arguments.

"I think we need a break, we seem to have really long discussions these days and it would not do us any good to make ourselves tired by talking constantly." he said. "I'm going to make some tea. Would you like me to make some for you, as well?"

Yamamoto, who only then realized just how tired he felt, nodded with a short, muttered 'Thanks' at Gokudera.

Gokudera sent a look towards Yamamoto that said he heard him and opened the door so he could head to the kitchen. The moment he closed the door he was met with the sight of the one person he especially wanted to take his frustrations on the entire day.

"Hibari Kyoya." he snarled, furious with the other simply over the fact that he was the main cause to Yamamoto's depression. After all, he was doing just fine until Hibari opened his mouth and he chose the ignore the small voice in his head that said it was just a matter of time.

The only thoughts that went through the storm guardians head were about how unfair it was that Yamamoto was now suffering because of the storm guardian's idiocy. And now that he met Hibari standing conveniently outside the infirmary door, he did not want to let him go as easily as yesterday. He would at least make the other see that he was clearly wrong this time.

The Italian didn't know it, but the cloud guardian was already aware of his mistake. That was why he had trouble sleeping the night before and the cause of his tiredness today. That was why he was now irritated as he went to a walk to clear his mind of the matter so he could sleep but then found himself straight in front of the infirmary door, much like yesterday.

"Do you have any idea what you did yesterday?" the silver haired boy asked dangerously.

"I do not know what you are talking about." Hibari said. He knew exactly what the other was referring to, but he would not degrade himself to be lectured by the person who stood in front of him. "And I do not believe I have the obligation to answer to the likes of you."

"I will tell you what you did." Gokudera said angrily, his seemingly long lost anger coming back tenfold to him in the wake of the other's somewhat irking words and arrogant attitude. "You-"

"-did nothing wrong. Everything is fine, don't mind him, please." said the rain guardian who passed through the door out of the room, since he heard the raised voice. "He is just confused, that's all." Yamamoto finished, his face emotionless and his voice distant. It was probably something like his defense mechanism kicking in, but as Gokudera shut his mouth he still looked at his friend with sadness in his eyes at the cold display the other could manage to put on in a moment.

It was clear that a lot has changed for the two guardians who stood in front of him, and for just one single moment he wondered how come nobody else had noticed. That moment died the minute the thought made it's way through his mind. Those idiots would never see what's plain ahead of them, they are too focused in seeing what they want and need in a person to see the truth about that person. Herbivores. It's a good thing he is not one of them.

"So will you just continue to stand here or do you have something you need?" Gokudera said impatiently, his question pointed, quite obviously, at Hibari. He, for one, didn't want to continue wasting time in purposeless silence. "Well? Just go away if you don't."

The deadly cloud guardian sent a glare in the storm guardian's direction that, had it been possible, would have torn Gokudera to bloody pieces that would then be scattered across the floor so everyone could step on them. Basically, the glare clearly stated Hibari didn't want him to be there during that particular moment. Or any other, actually. His glare shifted to Yamamoto, who in turn looked at him quizzically.

"I'm only going to say this once, herbivore, so listen." Hibari said, and swallowed his pride for the single moment needed to get the next part out of his mouth. "I apologize for the words I said yesterday. They were tasteless and voiced with no thought."

That was it. Now that he said it, he didn't have that idiotic, nagging feeling that he had to make it up to the stupid one. He wouldn't have said any of those words had he not seen the other guardian's drastic change in character. Even though it would probably kill him to admit it, the way the tall herbivore had acted was irritating because it just didn't seem right. This one should be all happy and irritating for no apparent reason and not at all have that cold expression on his face.

The cloud guardian, now satisfied he would be left alone, started making his way back to his room without saying another word but stopped abruptly and turned back as he heard one sentence. Just one sentence that would mean the life of a certain rain guardian should he not be stopped in time.

"Oh, come on Kyoya." Yamamoto called the sentence loudly and continued after the other stopped in his tracks. "Why leave so early? You just arrived, stay for tea." This earned him a sharp glare that could possibly petrify Tsuna to death yet the rain guardian seemed magically immune to it.

The storm guardian saw the beginning of another meaningless fight between the two other guardians yet instead of feeling worried that Yamamoto was messing with Hibari's nerves, he was relaxed to see how lively the other was. It seemed like most of the tension he had piled up during these two weeks was drained the night before.

So Gokudera watched, amused, as the two guardians stood in front of each other and Yamamoto just kept on taunting the other boy. Hibari looked really tired though, so he guessed it was probably better to put a stop to the quarrel before it gets too out of hand. Unless the reason he was tired was because he couldn't sleep due to the guilt of the words he said. Nope. Probably just stayed up all night while terrorizing all the people who left their room for the many possible reasons. Now _that_ would be like Hibari. He laughed silently at the mental image of Hibari chasing people all night through the many hallways the base had.

Gokudera was just trying to figure out how to stop the fight _and_ avoid any injuries as Tsuna, who passed through the corridor caught two of is guardians in a position that made him experience a strong feeling of deja vu while a third guardian stood by the side and didn't do a thing. Hibari was standing with his tonfas out and Yamamoto was taking slow steps back while his hands were half raised, chuckling at the other's immediate reaction to his words. Gokudera was standing with his back to the wall and his arms behind his back, as if he was enjoying a show instead of really trying to find a way to separate the two. He caught sight of his young boss that stood on the other side ot the spontaneous battlefield and tried to explain so the other would not worry.

"Tenth. It's fine, they are just tired."

At that, Yamamoto looked at him suddenly with a wicked smile smacked on his face. "It's Hayato's fault I didn't get any sleep, he kept me up almost all night." he said. Then he turned to face Hibari once more. "What's your excuse?"

The random question actually made the cloud guardian's expression to be filled with amusement as he smirked at the storm guardian who didn't know what this was all about. The evil smile that Yamamoto kept on his face as he looked at Gokudera's face made the pieces in the boy's head connect and his pale face became a dark crimson shade in an instant as he choked on air in disbelief and shock.

"I... You, what? No! I wasn't!"

Tsuna looked at his gibbering friend with worried eyes, he couldn't help the thought that this should also bring some deja vu to his mind.

"What? Its true." the rain guardian pretended to sulk. "We _did_ stay up talking the entire night." he said, looking at the others' shocked expressions as he gave a taunting smile that said it all.

"What did you think I meant?"

* * *

Hi everyone :]

I'm reallllyyy tired so I'll just say a few words and then I can go to sleep. -oh, my so very comfortable looking bed, why are you calling me to you all night long?-

Okay, while my eyes are still open...

Just wanted to tell you that the Tsuna-secret-thing is going to appear in the short side story. It's going to be a X27. (he he he... wanna find out what big, bad Xanxus did to poor, shy Tsuna in the future while you were occupied? Well, I'm writing simultaneously so chapters of both the main and the side stories are going to be uploaded without any delays :]) And if we are already on it then the Gamma80 one shot is already halfway done.

I thank all the reviewers for taking their time to review and want you to know It's appreciated ;p

Have a good night\nice day wherever you live...

Bye bye.


	11. It's Just the Heart

**Blanco: Chapter 10 – It's Just the Heart**

* * *

_Black circles instead of eyes,  
__it's obvious you couldn't fall asleep._

_Laughing suddenly, all at once,  
__sending smiles to everyone.  
__But inside you are praying,  
__come, wind._

* * *

"Ciaossu." a voice called from somewhere behind Yamamoto's back and he groaned softlyas he knew immediately who it belonged to.

Until that moment, he rain guardian was sleeping quite peacefully and sighted as he had to wake up. Judging by the fake sunlight he could feel on his skin, it was probably already morning, 'No excuses', he thought with a sight as he opened his eyes. 'Yes, definitely morning', the thought came to his mind as he blinked continuously at the blinding light. As soon as he could see he didn't have to look much ahead to see the storm guardian's face. Actually, they were so close to each other that the tall guardian could feel the silvery strands of hair caressing his face with every slight movement the Italian made in his sleep. He tried to turn around to face Reborn, but the hand on his waist wouldn't let go or even loosen enough so he could change the current position he was in.

The Japanese boy actually had to make the mistake of turning only his face to take a look at the arcobaleno that still stood on the bedside table, the wait didn't seem to bother him. In fact, the baby's eyes were twinkling with amusement. The interesting expression the hitman had on his face, combined with the look in his eyes, made the rain guardian quickly turn his head back to the storm guardian's face.

From what he got to see in his short glance, the door was closed and he already knew there were no windows. Unlike the building like Millefiore base they were held in, the Vongola base was located underground, so there were no surprises there. What _did_ amaze him, and not for the first time, was the baby's ability to just pop out of nowhere.

Yamamoto couldn't help the thought that it was a repeating pattern. Lying in bed, someone else appearing, getting Gokudera to wake up, have some sort of serious discussion. And with Reborn being the guest this time, the conversation was destined to eventually become serious. And he could see that because, what other reason would the baby have to suddenly develop an interest in the two guardians other than needing something from them.

"Hayato." he called in his still sleep-laced voice, attempting to wake the other boy, much like he had done when Tsuna and their friends came to visit them. This time however, the rain guardian really did try to wake the other up, since it was Reborn who sat less than a meter from the both of them. "Wake up, the baby is here."

"Hmn?" came the blurry response. 'Oh no." Yamamoto thought in alarm at that exact moment. He couldn't run away from that adorable face Gokudera always makes when he wakes up. 'If I close my eyes now, he will just go back to sleep and I really don't want to turn my head only to risk taking another look at the baby's suspicious expression.' the tall boy reasoned to himself. So he waited a bit, and...

'Yes. There it was.'

The rain guardian had to force himself to take deep breaths in effort to steady his speeding heartbeat. That damned sleepy look that never failed to make Yamamoto lose his mind every morning. Those enchanting green eyes that open with natural elegance manage to pierce right through him as he is the first thing they descend on. Those silver locks of hair that never cease to captivate him at their apparent softness that just draws his hand up to stroke them. Those pink lips that--

"…already up. Takeshi, are you still tired?"

The rain guardian couldn't put his finger on the exact time he lost what little amount of concentration he had that morning, but he knew exactly why. By the time he found his scattered thoughts, the hand holding his waist had already left him and Gokudera had sat up beside him so he was now stupidly staring only at air.

"So, the two of you are saving space?"

For once, Yamamoto didn't feel like going around the subject. He was just woken up, it was still too early, even for breakfast and once again didn't get enough sleep. Also, more than that, he now had to get up from the warm bed. Saying that he was unhappy at that moment would have been an understatement. Yet, he got up from bed and without even voicing his complaints out loud, made his way across the room from the bed to the couch, where Gokudera and Reborn had already taken their places. Without paying much attention, he made a place for himself by the silver haired guardian's side and looked up at the famous Vongola hitman.

"Baby, is th-"

Instantly, Gokudera's eye twitched at the nickname the rain guardian always seemed to refer the arcobaleno with, before he cut Yamamoto in the middle of the sentence with a short whisper. "Don't call him _that_, his name is Reborn."

Yamamoto looked at him strangely but chose not to comment on the strange request as he continued his question. "Is there anything you need?" the question was polite, the motives weren't.

"During the night, the Vongola researchers that reside here at base, led by Giannini, head of the Family's Mechanical and Technological branch which is a part of the main Logistics Department, had succeeded in making an important breakthrough in the study of the Bovino Family's ten year bazooka's effects."

The two Vongola guardians kept their silence so they wouldn't interrupt Reborn's words. They had both been cut off for such a long time that now that they had the chance, the two would accept any sort of information they can get. Especially the kind that is not only recent, but also, coming from Reborn, authentic.

"To shorten the detailed report they handed in, basically, a way to reverse the ten year bazooka's function had been discovered." the arcobaleno could now see the brief display of emotions that passed at the same time through the two boys as it reflected in their eyes. The two have essentially figured out the possible outcome of such a discovery. "It's true, it is now possible to send people back to the past. But," he said before he could see the hopeful expressions appear on the two faces that were focused intently on him. "there had been one major complication that showed up in all the test which have been performed since the discovery until only recently."

"And what is that, Reborn?" Gokudera asked in impatience, there was no hiding the fact he couldn't wait to go back to the past and have everything go back to normal again.

"The greatest problem that occurred continuously test after test, was that even though they did manage to reverse the effect and send the test subjects to the exact time in the past we came from, the effect only takes place for 5 minutes." Reborn said. "And while normally it's the way the bazooka is supposed to operate, we didn't arrive with normal circumstances. That's why we got stuck here in the first place.

"Currently, the scientists are working to the best of their abilities to solve this problem and transport us successfully back to the past. Until a way to make the effects last and keep us permanently in the past will be found, we will have to keep waiting.

"Doctor Shamal asked me to inform you that the two of you are still expected to stay in the infirmary to recover fully while the way to return back to the past is being checked and approved as useful."

The baby didn't wait for the guardian's replies and continued, "Which brings us to the main reason I came here." his eyes narrowed as he looked from one boy to the other. "There's something I need to know."

Whatever Reborn had planned to ask, the boys knew one thing for sure, the Reborn that sat in front of them wanted some answers and was not playing around. The look that he gave them make them understand, for real, for the first time they met him, why he was the Mafia's most feared hitman. They wanted nothing more than to avoid the questions he was about to ask but there was something about the baby that said 'Even if you don't tell me right now, I will still find out later.'

"I came here because I wanted to hear from _the two of you_ what happened at the Millefiore base during your time there."

At that exact moment both Yamamoto and Gokudera knew. They knew that it wasn't below Reborn to just make Shamal tell him of their detailed medical file. There was just something intimidating with the way he made the sentence sound that told them he wasn't joking. And they could definitely see the hitman making it doing just that. Just picture it, Shamal being left with having to decide between being acquainted with the Mafia's top women to keeping his doctor's credibility. As far as the two have seen, the infamous doctor had already made his choice. Why else would he refuse to treat any patient who isn't female?

The silver haired guardian's eyes met the black haired one's and tried to silently confirm whether he was aware of the hidden message in the hitman's words. He said he wanted to hear it from 'the two of _them_', and it was not because they were the only ones there. No, it was much more than that. It was because he _always_ had other ways and other people to get the same information from. Not only Shamal. This was Reborn, the Mafia's most feared hitman, and this is why it wasn't hard to believe it was possible.

Saying that he would listen to the two's story was out of respect and it was what might be their only chance to accept it and prove they are worthy of it. He wasn't against them and didn't want them hurt. The threat wasn't made to scare them, the proof being that the words weren't delivered with hostility, but with plain seriousness.

The bottom line was that he still had to know so he could make the right decisions concerning the Family as the highest ranked member of the Family at the time, Tsuna being his student made him rank below, and he was giving the two the option to choose. Yamamoto didn't want to tell, but he understood it was necessary and that was what mattered at that specific moment. 'The ba--Reborn would find out anyway, so it was much better for us accept his offer and share this now.' he justified in his mind. There was no better choice.

The rain guardian absentmindedly leaned closer to Gokudera, subconsciously seeking his protection, and resigned himself to listen to the story with a short nod he sent the other boy's direction as his face held the reasonable combination of determination and dread.

So at the end, even though it was difficult to let all those memories out, they told him. Everything.

* * *

_The demons visit at night,  
__weaving braids of pain.  
__It's just your heart that's hurting,  
__don't worry...  
__It's just the heart. _

* * *

Gokudera and Yamamoto were now sitting on their bed in the infirmary. The storm guardian was leaning with his back against the wall while the rain guardian was sitting on the opposite side with his feet on the floor, his elbows on his knees and his face in his open palms. They had already eaten breakfast and since there was nothing needed from them until dinner both had agreed and decided they should go back the their room and restore some of the lost hours of sleep.

When they did get to the room however, neither rushed in haste to lie on the bed and do as planned. Each had his own thoughts and, during all their time together, they had both gained one attribute in common that they didn't have before. They had earned the ability to sit together in the same room, yet still be able to allow each other to keep their own privacy by keeping each to themselves in their own mind and the thoughts within it.

The storm guardian didn't really seem to want to put the newly acquired ability to use that moment though. He looked intently at his roommate as he determined the best way he should voice his worries. Yamamoto himself didn't even notice the attention as his eyes were still closed and covered by his hands. The Italian had finally decided to just get straight to the topic. It had worked up until now, so why shouldn't it keep working?

"Are you thinking about earlier?" Gokudera inquired serenely, he had a feeling that the conversation with Reborn would just be left behind without some damage done. For the first time since getting out, the other boy had to admit out loud to someone other than the storm guardian what took place at that room the day they had been rescued. Shamal hadn't really been counted since he didn't need to be told about it, he just knew since he was the one that checked Yamamoto.

The rain guardian nodded shortly, not trusting his voice to do it's job those moments.

Yamamoto turned away from Gokudera, his shoulders twitching with suppressed tears.

"Oh, come on." the storm guardian whispered. He made the short way across the bed until he got to the depressed boy and hugged him from behind. Then he continued with a soft voice that sent tremors through the other's body that had no relation to the tears he tried to keep. "Let it go, don't hold it in. Don't fight it"

The young swordsman seemed to give up at those words. His previously tense shoulders slumped suddenly as his control was broken and the detained tears began flowing down the pale cheeks. He turned around in the embrace and wrapped his arms around his friend who, in response, only tightened his hold over the crying teen and began stroking his hair with a comforting rhythm. The silver haired guardian allowed his head to rest on the black haired one's shoulder and the other did the same as he started talking between the sobs.

"I. Talking to reborn. It made those memories... of _that_ time, it made them..." the Japanese started as he tried to ignore the impulse to just keep quiet and cry. His throat was burning and it was getting difficult to continue talking.

"Surface?" Gokudera suggested and completed the sentence for him.

Yamamoto nodded against the warm neck. "I can't get it out of my mind. If it was just at night then I could deal with it. You probably don't know, but every time that I have a nightmare that makes me recall those memories and I wake up scared, I calm down in an instant when I feel you beside me, not letting go all night." he said with embarrassment evident on his cheeks. It was weird, saying that out loud.

Gokudera knew though. He knew because every nightmare Yamamoto had had caused him to wake up. The tall boy would gasp and struggle in his arms and he would wake up and hum quietly to calm the other. Then, he would feel the other waking up and he would close his eyes so the rain guardian wouldn't have to feel guilty with the knowledge of waking him up almost every night. Just the thought that Yamamoto was telling him this now told him that the other was really troubled by his thoughts. So he stayed quiet and waited for the him to finish.

"If it was only during the night that I had to reminiscence those moments, I could deal with it." he repeated. "But these days, there is always something that reminds me. Words, actions, appearances and... touches." the last one he whispered, as if ashamed in himself for even feeling that way. Those 'reminders', that make me see everything over and over even when my eyes are open, I can't deal with them anymore."

Those last words made their way through his lips as his sobs grew uncontrolled once more, his breathing quickened and his heart started beating faster as he closed his arms around Gokudera's body even more than before. He buried his face even more in the silver hair,dampening it with his tears.

"And today... today was much worse than any other day." he cried, trying in vain to calm himself down. He was just getting more and more upset as he remembered the last few hours. "I... I had to see... everywhere I looked--"

"--Takeshi." Gokudera called as he separated himself slightly from the embrace so he could take the other's face in his hands with concern. "Breathe. You are starting to hyperventilate, and it will only make everything much worse than it is now."

At Yamamoto's lack of collaboration he pressed his palms a bit more into the skin, looked deeply into the tearful eyes and tried to gain his attention once again. "Breathe. Just breathe with me. Take a deep breath and keep for a moment before letting it go, watch," he said slowly as he took a deep breath and held it in for a few seconds before releasing it. He repeated the action once more but this time waited for his friend to follow, only releasing his breath after Yamamoto's first try.

They kept repeating it for a few minutes and soon the rain guardian's breathing was regular once more as well as his heartbeat. He was leaning on the storm guardian's chest who in turn was leaning on the wall, just like before.

The arms around Yamamoto's shoulders kept him close to the warm Italian yet he still felt himself drifting far away. "I'm not very stable, am I?" he asked apologetically with heavy grief coating his words. "I'm sure you've gotten tired of me being like this. Always depressed and so different than before."

The tall boy was about to continue speaking when a warm hand that left his shoulder covered his head and gentle fingers passed through and caressed his hair in a way that made him relax and lean closer to both the hand and the body it belonged to.

"The two of us have changed a lot, there is no denying that." the storm guardian looked down at his friend as he said those words, his left hand not stopping. "We have scars that we didn't have before, we have issues that might never be solved completely. But, it seems you are forgetting something."

Yamamoto was confused, he looked up at the Italian with question plain in his eyes. Just what could he have missed? The knowing look that settled on the other boy's face at the tall one's confusion didn't help much with calming it.

"You have me." Gokudera said simply. "And I'm more than aware of the situation, I'm already involved in it."

He let his head fall back softly to the wall and he felt the rain guardian leaning his own head against his chest once more as he continued talking. "There is nothing you can do that could make me leave your side at the moment, because I know that to get better, you need support, and I'm the only one in the position to do this."

His hand stopped and Yamamoto looked up at him with question in his eyes. He looked at his hand and then back at the boy as an amused smirk took over his face. The rain guardian noticed what he was doing and his cheeks flared. It wasn't his fault that Gokudera's hands felt so good!

"Unless you would rather Reborn help you..." the storm guardian added absently as he looked up as if contemplating the idea.

Yamamoto blanched. Thanks, but no thanks. He looked at Gokudera with a small pout on his face, his eyes meeting the other's the exact moment his head was up. And at that moment, the storm guardian was paralyzed. The only thought passing through his head at that moment was,

"This is _so_ not fair."

The rain guardian smirked triumphantly as the Italian realized he unknowingly voiced his thoughts and began sulking.

This really wasn't fair though. Yamamoto had no idea what he makes the storm guardian feel every time he puts on such a face. During those times the urges to just grab the tall boy and kiss him on those cute lips were becoming more and more difficult to suppress. It wasn't helping that he was always so close, not to mention, touching.

And for the first time. For the first time since Gokudera started having those thoughts that went back as far as their time in the cell, he didn't ignore them. He didn't push them aside or denied them.

For the first time he realized that his care for Yamamoto was running much deeper than he thought. He already knew he cared for him as a Family, but which kind? Not as a brother, like the Tenth or Ryohei, no, not like this. More than a friend and almost like a lo--

No.

He may have realized his feelings, but he still couldn't accept them. He had to take his mind off the matter before it got out of hand. It it hadn't already.

The Japanese was looking at him with curiosity as he brought his ming back on tracks.

"No, but seriously now." Gokudera said, deciding to change the subject completely. He thought about what else he could say to the other boy that he hadn't already, but then he realized there was one thing he failed to tell him.

"Thank you."

"Y_ou_ thank me? For what?" Yamamoto asked in dismay, 'Shouldn't it be the other way around?' he asked himself.

"Thank you for trusting me." came the simple yet complex answer at the same time.

Yamamoto's uneasiness was shattered at the reply and understanding took it's place. The storm guardian had been waiting for his entire life for someone who could count on him to come. When he finally found Tsuna and declared himself as the Vongola's tenth boss' right hand he finally felt like he found that person. And now the rain guardian was proving to be just the same, perhaps without knowing, but it didn't change the fact that he was. He smiled brightly at his roommate, friend, companion who, in one way of another, had become some sort of family to him.

"You welcome."

* * *

_You are standing at the end of the stage.  
__When it's me in the spotlight, it's easy to fall in love.  
__It's just your heart that's hurting,  
__don't worry...  
__It's just the heart. _

* * *

It was night, and Gokudera and Yamamoto decided to eat thinner at their room for once. There were three reasons for that. One, the primary reason, was that they were tired because they hadn't used their time until then to recover the precious lost hours of sleep and both felt like they couldn't function really well so they didn't want to risk falling over halfway back to the room. Two, the reason that may or may not have been caused by the previous reason, was that they just didn't feel like seeing anyone after the day they had. And three, was that they just plainly felt like it.

After dinner they found themselves heading straight to bed and Yamamoto, in an unusual gesture, was the one who wrapped his arms around the other guardian who, for some reason, looked depressed. The rain guardian didn't know that what was troubling the storm guardian were the newly discovered feelings. He didn't know about the struggle in the other's mind between acting responsibly and acting solely on impulses. He didn't know, he could only guess.

For all he knew, the green eyed teen could be depressed simply because he was tired and Yamamoto hoped that after they get some sleep everything would get much better and look a whole lot brighter than it looks now for the both of them.

So even though he didn't know what was the cause to his friend's sudden change of attitude, he still tried to give his comfort. He let his fingers slide through the silky, soft hair as he calmly sang,

"So dream, that I'm singing for you,  
that I'm thinking about you when I write.  
It's just your heart that's hurting,  
don't worry...

"It's just the heart."

* * *

Hyperventilating people... had to deal with many of those these last three years. It would be a disgrace for me if after all those people I wouldn't know how to calm them down the fastest way possible =\

Eternal question it is... 'Who is the seme?'. Well, if you haven't guessed yet (not expecting you to though, I think you already noticed my tendency to throw surprises at you, right?), you will just have to wait and see. I promise you won't have to wait long... In fact, it's just around the corner.

Reviewers... I really like you, you know?

Bye bye.


	12. What Would You Say?

**Blanco: Chapter 11 – What Would You Say?**

**

* * *

**

_What would you say if I meet you today,  
__and unexpectedly greet you?  
__What would you say if I whisper in your ear  
__and then kiss you on your cheek?_

_What would your heart say then?_

* * *

'7:23', the clock showed as Yamamoto glanced at it upon waking up. The lights were on and his amazement at the strange illumination never seemed to stop no matter how many times he noticed it. Because the base was underground, there were no windows. That part was easy enough to figure out. But the way the Vongola technicians decided to deal with the lack of the natural sunlight was odd. The lighting system was in fact programmed to replicate the effects of the sun and imitate it indoors, set by the different times of the day.

The results were almost the same as those that could be seen outside, but still without the changes in the sun's positions. Every morning there would be a soft light that indicates the beginning of the day. Then, by noon, it would grow stronger and brighter yet even then, thankfully, the temperature would not rise at all. Some time before the afternoon, the lights would start to dim like it was sunset. But, unlike the real sun, the lights inside would stay that way until later that evening and would not diminish until each room's residents would turn them off manually. Of course, should anyone wish to turn the lights on and off by themselves during any hour of the day, it was possible.

As different as the system was set to be, it was still very convenient and useful and the rain guardian was thankful for it's existence. In the Millefiore base, the only lights that illuminated their original cell were the sunlight during the day and the moonlight late at night. They would have to wake up early every morning either because the sunlight was too strong and disturbed their sleep or because it had been raining and all the water had gotten inside through the window. In any way they could not have an ideal morning though.

What was even worse for the swordsman though, was that once they had been moved to the second cell, everything had gotten much worse that it already was, in terms of weather. Or less of it more likely, because with no window at all, there was no way to know how things were going outside. There was only artificial light, but that one, as opposed to the one in the Vongola base, stayed the same for the entire three weeks they were locked there. It goes without saying that the Japanese boy prefers the current system over the lack of one.

He could now wake up much later than before and, thus, sleep more effectively almost without any disturbances. Moreover, with the spare time that had been gained, he could engage in his recently discovered favorite morning activity. If you could really call watching Gokudera while the boy was sleeping an activity.

Yamamoto could still remember the first time he noticed he had been doing that. Even while in the cell, he always seemed to wake up before Gokudera, be it a matter of minutes or seconds. The Japanese guardian would just stare at the sleeping teen and sort of freaked out as he thought of the creepiness of his actions. But waking up morning after morning at the same position made him change his opinion rather quickly about the matter to the completely opposite direction.

Now he could just watch Gokudera and listen to his breathing, not feeling strange, but calm. The rain guardian would justify himself by saying that leaving the bed was not an option. Both because of the firm hands that wouldn't let him go and also because he simply didn't wish to. For those reasons he couldn't leave the bed and therefore, had to keep himself from getting bored. From then on, it was quite obvious. Gokudera _was_ the most interesting thing in the room after all.

Being interesting aside, he also loved the way the Italian's arms felt when they were wrapped tightly around him. With them being all warm and protective, it made him feel unimaginably safe, like nothing could ever get close enough to hurt him. His breathing would unintentionally match itself to the soft rhythm of the storm guardian's breathing that passed through his slightly open lips. The silver haired boy's peaceful, steady and repetitive heartbeat would add to the serene feeling the swordsman was experiencing and give him another reason to keep himself rooted to the bed.

As he reveled in the pleasant environment that he was surrounded in, Yamamoto was unexpectedly reminded of the night before. How for the entire previous evening Gokudera seemed depressed, isolated and passive. The unusual behavior made the rain guardian a bit unnerved, especially since this was the storm guardian who was showing it.

The clock's alarm went off with weak beeping sounds that would have eventually gotten stronger and much more annoying had Gokudera's hand not darted that exact minute to put an early end to it. The storm guardian who just woke up took in the sight of the startled swordsman beside him and thought it was his fault for moving so fast first thing in the morning.

"Sorry." he apologized sheepishly as he put his head back on the shared pillow, still tired.

"For what?" Yamamoto asked in confusion, looking at the other with a puzzled look on his face. He was just surprised that so much time had passed, was it really half past eight already? Had all this time really passed by without him noticing?

"For waking you up so suddenly." the Italian reasoned. "Should have just let the alarm keep on beeping until you woke up instead of giving you the time to wake up by yourself."

'Oh, so that's what it was.' the rain guardian thought as understanding dawned on him. "Don't worry it wasn't you." he said quietly and explained so he could put the other at ease over the unneeded concern. "I was already awake, but the alarm took me by surprise."

"I see." the quiet respond and slight blush indicating Gokudera was embarrassed by getting all worried over nothing, feeling weird about the fact that he just jumped to the conclusion. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Hayato." came the almost cheerful reply. It seemed like all the encouraging conversations they had were finally catching up with all the memories of the negative events. Yamamoto definitely seemed a lot healthier now than since this whole ordeal started as well. The silver haired boy could bet without a doubt that he did, too, but the other guardian just had so much more to deal with than he had at the time.

The storm guardian, now fully awake, looked around the room as memories of the day before began haunting him the longer he watched the now out of bed rain guardian. As the other went to the infirmary's private bathroom, Gokudera stayed in bed, lying on his side and looking at the closed door his friend just passed through.

Thoughts of the new feelings he discovered he had towards the other boy came to his mind and settled there, much like the previous evening's worries. The worries that left him indifferent to his surroundings, apathetic to all people who were near him.

His worries were all about the consequences which would result from his actions towards the newly discovered feelings. They were kind of divided into two groups. One about what would happen should he go through with his feelings and try to do something about them. The other about what would happen should he just choose to ignore those feelings. Both had their own advantages and disadvantages though, and the dilemma could not be solved as easily as just simply deciding. Gokudera really felt like he had to take his time thinking of all the possible results, the risks against the benefits. The bottom line was, this decision could be a crucial one, and should not be taken lightly.

If he chose to act upon his feelings, then first of all, he might get a lover. Key word is 'might', because even if he does make his move, what's to say the other guardian would feel the same way? After being rejected his entire life, Gokudera didn't want to even begin to think about Yamamoto rejecting him too. Then, even if everything goes well, how could the rest of the family possibly accept the relationship? Could he really handle the situation should the Tenth disapprove of his actions? He couldn't. The Tenth was important to him, he had his duty as a right hand to always be by his boss' side, and this might be another difficulty. Could the rain guardian understand the situation between the right hand and the boss? Could he understand the Tenth's importance from the storm guardian's point of view?

All those reasons and explanations were passing through Gokudera's head one after the other. Some justified, some based on a whim, but all relevant to the issue. And yet, it seemed like after every reason to not act upon his feelings, appeared a reason to at least try and not push them aside, ignore them. The ultimate result of not acting to gain something you wanted during some time was the well known 'what-if syndrome'. He would disregard his feelings and possible opportunities and everything would be fun and normal for a while. It might take a month, a year or a decade, but he would always develop the same nagging feeling at the end. The one that caused him to regret his inactions and wish to go back and change them, thinking 'what-if' the entire time. These kinds of thoughts left the Italian dreading the oncoming future, what would happen next, and his meaningful decisions that would avert the path he continued walking on.

By the time Gokudera had reached that certain phase of thoughts, Yamamoto had already finished taking his shower and got dressed and ready for breakfast. During his shower he thought carefully about the Italian's unusually quiet attitude by gathering all to facts he knew about the situation so he could really do his best to support the other and help him get over the apparent depression. The facts were that the day before, the swordsman had another breakdown, and Gokudera calmed him down once again. Then, almost in a matter of minutes after everything seemed fine, the other boy had sunk in a sudden depression that left him acting indifferently towards everything and everyone.

As the rain guardian stepped out of the bathroom, all dressed and prepared to leave the room when the other was ready, he noticed that he had not even gotten up from the bed yet. The green eyes were open and staring blankly at the ceiling, this appearance proved the Japanese teen right in his suspicions that this pattern was a continuation of yesterday's behavior.

All the facts, were showing pretty clearly what was the number one cause to the depression. Yamamoto himself. Well, more likely the discussion that took place, but it still meant it was his fault. It was obvious really, because there was nothing else that took place between the conversation and the changes in behavior. So, certain in his reasons to put the blame on himself, the rain guardian decided to confront the storm one about his condition.

"Hayato." only then did the Italian notice his friend's presence in the room, and looked up at the other with exhaustion in his eyes. He didn't wait for the rest of the sentence before he sat up and left the bed with a sigh.

"I'm going to get ready now, don't worry, it won't take me much time to finish and then we could go have breakfast." he stated as he walked to the bathrooms direction. While passing by Yamamoto, he lowered his head and walked faster unconsciously. The only one in the room who noticed that the storm guardian hadn't even spared the other boy a glance after he ignored the words which were supposed to be spoken was the rain guardian himself. He stood alone in the infirmary and looked at the floor with his eyes full of sorrow as he heard the the flow of water coming from the other side of the door.

* * *

Breakfast didn't change much of anything, not that Yamamoto had expected it to, but he still had to have some hope. Gokudera was still acting the same as he was the night before and that morning before they arrived in the dining room. The rain guardian noticed that he wasn't the only one who noticed the change and was worried, but now he knew he probably _was_ the only one sitting at the table who was able to do something about it. Firstly, because it was most likely caused because of him. And secondly, because the rest might have just associated the depression with the two boys' situation and didn't know how to delve into it without saying something offensive that might result in even more damage that what was possibly already there.

When breakfast was over and Gokudera automatically got up and headed for the door so he could return back to the room, once again without any words passing through his lips, Yamamoto got up as well and sent an observing glance across the table. Tsuna, Ryohei, Haru, Chrome, Kyoko, Fuuta and even Shamal and Reborn were all looking at him expectantly. Bianchi was too focused on her brother. Mukuro was too busy holding, strangely, Hibird in his hand as the yellow bird sang quietly. Hibari, for some reason that might have a connection to the small creature's choice of location, was glaring a hole into the pineapple's forehead. Actually, he was probably just annoyed he had been asked to come and eat breakfast with everyone else instead of alone in his room.

'All those expectant looks...' Yamamoto thought, his eyes returning to watch the storm guardian's back slowly getting further and further away. 'They know something is wrong, and are hoping that I could be the one to fix it.' he began following his roommate back to their private infirmary as one, last, noticeable thought crossed his mind. 'I hope I could make it better, too.'

It was easy enough for the rain guardian to catch up with the shorter teen, but he still knew better than to try starting a conversation. He could already predict the other's reaction, or lack of it actually. Just like the silver haired guardian was flying with an autopilot, not really taking interest for anything that was outside of his mind's territory. Walking through corridors and passages, the rather short path to the infirmary was made without any sort of exchange between the two. Some time around the halfway point to get to their room, Yamamoto had gotten this sinking feeling that Gokudera might have not even noticed he had company in his way back.

The door to their infirmary closed with a soft 'click' and with it went all possible interaction the two guardians had with the rest of the base's residents until dinner time would come.

The rain guardian felt like there would not be any moment better that that particular one to bring up the dreaded subject. He reminded himself of his friends' hopes and steeled himself for any accusations and faults that could be thrown at him, though he doubted Gokudera would intentionally try to hurt him. The storm guardian was lying on the bed, face down and body relaxed. He might have indeed not noticed his roommate's presence, or he just didn't care that he was there. Yamamoto didn't want to think which one was worst, to be ignored or to be unwanted. Probably the latter, but still, being ignored was not much fun either.

The rain guardian made his way to the bed in complete silence. He slowly sat on the edge of the bed with his back to Gokudera's upper body, he couldn't bear to watch an accusing look from the green eyed boy at the moment. He was already struggling to keep from crying at the lack of responses to his actions. He deemed it necessary to have physical contact to begin the conversation, because the verbal one didn't seem to work. That would be like talking to a wall. A really good looking one, maybe, but still unresponsive. So he put all his weight on his left hand as his right hand made it's way through the small bit of distance between it's previous location to Gokudera's hair. Landing softly on the silvery strands, the hand passed through them with it's shaking fingers and hesitating movements.

Yamamoto knew he had gotten his friend's attention as the previously hidden face was turned in his direction. The storm guardian's eyes were closed with comfort and appreciative sounds made their way through his throat only to be muffled by his closed lips.

"Hayato." The rain guardian was still not looking as he asked the question. "What's wrong?"

Had he been watching though, the swordsman would have witnessed the surprise that showed on the other guardian's face.

"Nothing really." he said honestly. The hand in his hair stopped and he hurried to explain at least part of what was going on, Yamamoto's hand just felt amazing and addictive as the long fingers went through his hair. "It's just that I have a lot on my mind."

"A lot of what?" the black haired boy asked, once again continuing to move his hand with a slow rhythm.

"A lot of thoughts." the Italian stated in a matter of fact kind of response.

"I knew that." Yamamoto said, pulling playfully on the part of the hair his hand was holding at the moment. "What I meant to ask was, what kind of thoughts? It must be something pretty serious because you have been distracted both yesterday and this morning."

At the hollow tone that accompanied the last sentence, the storm guardian had finally gathered enough self control to look up at the rain guardian without acting strange. Had his thoughts really blocked everything from the outside? If so, then he could probably see where the concern was coming from. For the first time in many hours, though for his they have passed more than twice as fast, Gokudera had noticed the fact that other than the previous day's discussion and the short conversation this morning, he had not acknowledged anything or anyone, let alone speak to them.

He slowly lifted his hand and pressed it lightly to the caressing palm, slowly closing his own on it.

"You shouldn't worry about it, give me a bit more time and it will pass."

Yamamoto was not really satisfied with this answer. He just had to ask the one question that persistently kept repeating in his head, not letting go.

"Does it have something to do with me?" it was a simple question. Yes or no, nothing more expected.

Gokudera could immediately see where this was going, and ha definitely didn't want the other to think he was at fault. Hell, the rain guardian didn't even know what it was all about so how could he have come to such a conclusion?

"Takeshi... " the name was spoken with an emotion that Yamamoto couldn't recognize, both in the voice and in his eyes. "Don't worry, its not something that you did."

And Yamamoto could just take his word for it.

* * *

_What would you say? What would you tell?  
__Don't make me wait.  
__What would you do? How would you react?  
__Allow me to see your soul._

* * *

During lunch and then all the way through dinner Gokudera was quiet and it was making Yamamoto's anxiety levels rise. Any thought he had that the situation might have been improved was lost and disappointment took it's place. He knew it might be stupid to not take the Italian's word, could even be seen as disrespect, but he still couldn't shake off the feeling that he might still be at fault.

So when dinner was over and the two guardians arrived at their room together, the rain guardian tried to try once again to understand the situation. This time though, he went with his feelings and not with his mind.

"I'm sorry." he apologized right after they passed through the door and closed it.

"For what?" the other asked in surprise.

"I know you told me I didn't do anything, but I still get the feeling that it's because of me, even if not directly." the surprised expression on the storm guardian's face had said it all and his own face fell. "If it's true then why didn't you tell me, when I asked you earlier?" he just wanted to know the truth, he was too tired to keep chasing blindly after it.

Gokudera, who stood in front of the taller boy, took a quick step forward and the other, in response, took a quick step back. The storm guardian moved forward again, and again the rain guardian moved backward. That is, until his knees hit the side of the soft bed and buckled slightly. A gentle shove from one of the pianist's fingers was enough to make him sit down on the bed.

Gokudera was now looking at him from above with nothing but truth in his eyes and Yamamoto couldn't bear to witness it so he turned his head to the side and closed his eyes. "If you didn't want to hurt me, then I understand." he started, tears of frustration and hurt flowing down from his shut eyes. "But please just- " his voice was caught in his throat as he felt a warm hand on his right cheek. A thumb passed horizontally across the soft flesh and erased the tears that stained the pale face.

The thumb trailed down and ghosted over the slightly separated lips in a motion that took the rain guardian's breath away. It finally stopped moving as it settled down on the scarred chin, rubbing softly over the healed cut as the rest of the fingers dwelt across the guardian's firm jaw.

The fingers, softly but effectively, coaxed Yamamoto's head to look up and since his eyes were still burning from the tears and kept closed, he couldn't figure out what was happening. That is, until he felt the soft lips that covered his own. In fact, even then he couldn't really understand the situation. He just froze. Even as the lips left his after the short and hesitant kiss he didn't move. His tears stopped though, probably the shock, so he could open his eyes without worrying about the stinging sensation.

His wonderment was disrupted by Gokudera's next words. It seemed as if he had snapped out of the trance he was in once he realized the teller boy wasn't responding to the kiss at all. "I'm sorry."

The apology took Yamamoto by surprise, but couldn't find his voice in time to ask for the reason before the Italian himself began answering it.

"I don't know what made me do that. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." the storm guardian was trying to avoid going into a panic attack at the thought of losing his friendship with the rain guardian by taking deep breaths in between the short sentences. "Of course you wouldn't want me, who would?Someone as hideous and unwanted as me."

Being on his own since he was a child, Gokudera had many insecurities about himself. Since he had no one to take care of him he had to look for a Family that would accept him, but there was no one that wanted to have him for a long time as he looked for a place to belong to. This particular experience had made him develop an extremely distorted belief of how people view him.

Yamamoto seemed to have gained the ability to speak again at the other's words. He just felt the sudden need to prove to him that he was wrong about himself.

"You are wrong." he stated simply, drawing the other's desperate attention. "I look at you and I only see standing in front of me someone so beautiful that makes my heart beat faster." he said without being embarrassed at all. He didn't want Gokudera to degrade himself any more. "Your eyes are the most gorgeous green and your hair is a brilliant silver. You have an amazing skin, pale but not sickly, that not even the scars left on it could ruin.

"Gokudera Hayato, you are anything but hideous." the rain guardian stated firmly as he looked deep into the disbelieving eyes. Then his own gaze strayed to the floor no his side. "If anything, I don't get why you would want someone like me, all scrawny and not special at all like you are."

The Italian seemed to get over his shock at the complimenting words rather quickly after he heard the last sentence. Be it as feeble as it was, he still heard it.

"You are special to me." he whispered, but didn't seem to find it in himself to say anymore for some reason. Since Gokudera couldn't say anything he just looked up and into those dark eyes, deep with meaning, and saw all the insecurities that had piled up even before they landed in the future, only to be more than added to when they have been captured. The moment he saw those feelings, all those strong emotions, he showed every ounce of emotion that he was feeling at that moment.

This kind of display was difficult to ignore.

"You... want me?" the rain guardian asked in astonishment, the wave of emotions that he had seen through those bright, green eyes telling him what the voice could not have said.

A short nod to confirm the question as this time, his own gaze strayed to the side in self doubt.

Noticing the seeping insecurity, Yamamoto closed his eyes as he said, "If there are any questions here, then it should be why you would want someone as tainted... as used as I am?" a complete lack of confidence.

Gokudera was fast on this one though, "You are not-"

"-but I am." the silver haired guardian was cut off by the bitter words. "No matter how you look at it, I'm damaged and I--"

"Look, there is no hiding that the both of us have issues." the green eyed boy decided to put an end to the pointless discussion and go back to the main topic. And as much as he dreaded to do so, he had to admit it was much better than keeping the current subject. "But I really do like you, a lot more than I believe I should, and that what matters.

"If you don't think you could feel the same, then I will forget it this instant, you don't have to worry about anything. Nothing will change between us." he had to try hard to keep himself from not saying those words, but he knew they were necessary.

"You really do love me." the firm nod Gokudera sent Yamamoto's way set the room to another sequence of quiet minutes.

Yamamoto had an unreadable look in his eyes, that Gokudera couldn't know whether it meant good or bad for him. After sitting silently for what seemed like hours even though it had only been less than a few minutes, the green eyed guardian couldn't take it anymore.

"It's alright, I promised I will forget it, and I will. But just give me a moment." he said as he got up from the bed, his head down and his shoulders slumped. He headed for the door, since it was to only way to distance himself from the other guardian.

The action seemed to snap the rain guardian back to reality and, by using his instincts only, his hand cut through the air and caught the Italian's pale hand with a firm grip. He slowly got up and pulled on the other's hand softly, in an attempt to make him turn around to look at him, but the other just kept his feet planted to the ground underneath him and wouldn't budge. The storm guardian was silently refusing with all his might to turn around and face him, but he wouldn't have any of it.

With a sharp pull of his hand backwards, Yamamoto left the other no choice but to face him. In fact, not only were they facing each other now, but they were practically in each other's faces. The momentum that was created by the pull and the other's half spin, made their faces and bodies so close to each other that they could almost feel the other's warmth in addition to their connected hands.

"Look at me." the swordsman said in a strong voice that cut through the air with sharpness that stated he would not yield until the other would give up and face him, almost like an order. Beside making the silver haired guardian shiver slightly at their force, those words only made him look further down at the floor. Yamamoto was mad at him, he had no doubt at that, and it was understandable. Really. But when he heard those words, he suddenly got the uncomfortable feeling as if his body was paralyzed and the simple action of lifting his head to look up at the person he cared about did not seem so simple anymore. Gravitation seemed to be a very interesting and mysterious thing at that current moment.

The rain guardian could see the impact his words made on the normally temperamental boy, making him act even more timidly, but just that wouldn't make him stop. He had to make the other understand.

So with another sharp movement, his hand left the other's hand and swiftly attached itself to the shorter guardian's chin. "I said." the rain guardian started forcefully as he pulled the other's chin up so his face would not be able to resist looking up at him. This action had revealed the beautiful pair of eyes the storm guardian had, the silver hair was slightly messed up and scattered across the pale face at the rough and sudden movements. The rain guardian's other hand, as bandaged as it was, removed the silvery locks with tender movements and his dark eyes softened the instant they met the sorrowful eyes that glistened with tears at the dull, sunset light that filled the room.

"I said." Yamamoto repeated slowly, this time taking on a much more gentle tone, as he took in the traces of fear that appeared in the green eyes. "Look at me." he whispered. The other boy closed his eyes and and as he opened them, looking directly at the caring eyes of the taller boy, two more perfect tears made their way across his pale cheeks. Those were the last tears.

The bandaged hand wrapped itself firmly around the storm guardian's waist, pulling him even closer to the taller boy, now their bodies were definitely touching, as the other hand was raised to gently wipe the falling tears from the beautiful, warm face. The rain guardian took his time as he silently closed the little bit of distance that they still had between them. He stopped moving when finally, their foreheads were touching and closed his eyes.

"Right now, there is only one thing that I want to do." he said, and the other boy, who had already submitted himself for whatever the taller one wanted to do to him, had said nothing and just waited patiently for the rest of the sentence.

He was surprised however, when no words were said, and the other's warm forehead left his with complete silence. Soft lips covered his own and his mind stopped functioning from that moment onwards. No hurt, no pain, no surprise. Only passion could be felt at the tender kiss that the two shared.

"How could I not grow to love you after you allowed me to see every part of your soul?"

Well, that had said it. "But,"

"Just shut up and kiss me again." Yamamoto commanded sweetly and kissed the tip of the pale nose. "For real this time."

Gokudera had to admit. He had nothing else to say.

"Okay."

And from that moment on, no words were spoken. No more words were needed.

* * *

Would you believe me when I tell you that, as planned ahead as this story was, it went in an entirely different direction than what I tried to make?

Would you believe me when I tell you the prologue was written two years ago and the rest of the story was definitely not supposed to go this way?

I guess you probably would. After all, I have no reason to lie...

Once again, thank you for reviewing. I just can't seem to stop saying it, always the same, guess my creativity dies when I'm not writing chapters... *sighs and puts a hand on my forehead* 'what is wrong with me?' (my inner voice kinda tells me 'I told you so' right now. How was I supposed to know it will take all night to finish writing the chapter? Ah, that's right, it's always like this. Never mind :p)

…Anyway, kisses from Rishon, some of you might get them later than others, but don't blame me. Blame the planet.

Bye bye.


	13. Today

Hey hey wait a minute... did I say anything to make you think the story was over? Because it really wasn't my intention. I tried to surprise you a lot of times, but this time was definitely not planned. I just wanted to tell you that after almost half the story, everything it was supposed to be going to be had been changed. Trust me when I say I think I got more of a shock than you when people began concluding... oh well, misunderstandings are a part of life...but still:

**There are still supposed to be about 8 chapters before the epilogue.**

So please don't think it's over, because I still have more... It might take me a bit of time to get the fat lady to start singing, she _is _kind of booked :p

This time you managed to surprise me, though, didn't you see it was still not 'complete'? I don't think I could ever leave the story like this... that would be awful of me =\

One last relevant advice – Don't jump to conclusions without looking at all the facts.

Enjoy :]

**Blanco: Chapter 12 – Today**

* * *

_Today, we would do something unforgettable,  
__that would leave a memory of blessed joy._

_Today, I would send a hand to caress your head.  
__Today, I would cause you to finally smile.  
__Today, I would banish the sadness from your eyes._

* * *

"So hot..." Gokudera commented from his sitting place on the bed in front of Yamamoto while the other impatiently unbuttoned his shirt as he stood by it. The rain guardian looked content when he had finally managed to get rid of his shirt, threw it absently to the floor and slowly made his way to the bed where Gokudera was still sitting motionless. The Italian had already taken his own shirt off. Both boys were sitting shirtless in their improvised infirmary bedroom. They both sat together on the bed, sharing a mutual look but, yet, neither made a move to get closer to each other.

"You are dripping." Yamamoto pointed tiredly as his eyes fell upon Gokudera's flushed skin. The panting storm guardian lifted his head to look at the other with an irritated expression on his face.

"Well, so are you." he responded defensively.

The rain guardian chuckled quietly at the aggressive behavior his roommate was showing. "What I meant was, that we would definitely have to change the sheets before we go to sleep tonight."

Gokudera could see where he was getting at and agreed with a weak nod. "Of course we would, I wouldn't be able to sleep on such dirty sheets anyway."

Had the two had any other words to say to each other, they didn't go pass their lips. Silence reigned the room and the only sounds were the heavy breathing and groans that were coming from the bed. Two beds if you want to be specific, actually. You see, the two guardians have figured some important and clearly visible facts that eventually caused some renovations to take place in their own private infirmary room.

The fact that there were two beds in the room and they have been using only one was the first. The fact that the two hospital beds had wheels like they always should have so they could be moved was the second. And the third and most important fact of all, it was much more comfortable for two people to share two beds instead of one. It hadn't taken much time or effort for the two young guardians to combine the movable beds. For once, they did not have to fear that one of them would fall off the narrow bed despite the fact the two were in each other's arms.

It may have taken some time, but Yamamoto just couldn't keep quiet anymore. "Everything is so sticky." he complained in an uncharacteristically whiny voice. "Hayato... make it better!" he demanded childishly.

Gokudera didn't even spare a glance to the side at the words. "Deal with it." he said harshly yet he immediately berated himself on the inside for taking his frustrations on the rain guardian. He looked at the other boy but, thankfully, the Japanese didn't even seem to care, he had probably understood the reason for his snappy answers and didn't take the last one seriously.

It was just so hot.

It all started that morning, when everyone had been called to the base's equivalent substitute to a living room. Most of the base's residents had been present there, yet there had been no problem for all of them to fit inside the spacious room. It had couches that surrounded small coffee tables and chairs lined by the wall.

It had been strange, to look around the room and see all those people who live with them at the same place, yet, still not be able to recognize most. The guardians and Reborn, as the core Family, had taken the couches in the middle of the room. Together with them were, of course, Haru and Kyoko, and another portion of the family's survivors. Those included Fuuta, Bianchi, Shamal, Giannini, Kusakabe who was accompanied by some of his followers and some unrecognized hitmen and random Vongola subordinates. The Varia had settled in a spot situated at the far end of the lounge and had, unsurprisingly, managed to create a radius around that particular space where no one else had tried to cross. Dino and his men took another part and the rest of the individuals from the various allied Family's were scattered across the room wherever there had been an open seat.

Once the people had gathered, they had all been told about a problem that had seemingly been developed at the air conditioning system. The problem was originated in some of the main generators room, as a short circuit shut down the electrical current that fed the system. Basically, the air conditioners were dead. The situation was worse than it normally should have, since they were currently residing in an underground base. No windows, no air. They still needed air though, and the only way to obtain it is to open the base's main entrance so that air from the outside would be able to get in. That was the only solution to keep the inhabitants safe from suffocation until the problem would be solved, hopefully by that afternoon.

Looking back at the discussion, the two boys could now tell that when they had all been informed about a possible 'mild uneasiness' issue that should be expected due to the change it had been a major understatement. The temperature had begun rising the higher and higher even since the moment the meeting had been concluded and now, several hours later, the heat was almost unbearable.

It's a good thing then, that Gokudera and Yamamoto had a creative idea so that the Family could deal with the heat for at least part of the day. The idea had been inspired days before because of the severe boredom streak they had been having, but was still relevant. Simply put, it had been a thought about a change of environment. To go out of the base, and spend some time under the real sun. Now that the Millefiore was gone, there was no real danger with being seen outside.

The suggestion was made during breakfast, that took place straight after the meeting. It could be said without a doubt that the proposal was warmly accepted just by the grateful expressions on people's faces. The only requirement that had been placed was actually a precaution. Everyone had to be grouped and every group had to have a set time to leave and return. That way, the danger the base would be exposed to anyone, be it a civilian or a mafioso from a rival family, would be lessened. Even though there weren't any enemies stalking them around anymore, there was still to risk allow more than a few base residents to be at ground level.

It didn't take long for the news to spread and, predictably, most asked to leave the base for that short amount of time. The rush was understandable, mostly because they really had been too long underground. Soon enough the groups had been assembled, three groups. One held Dino's men and the allied mafioso, the second held the Vongola Family and the third held all the individuals who hadn't been able to go out with the first two groups during their assigned time for some reason or another.

The first group was assigned the time between 10:00 to 12:00. Two hours had been planned for each group. Therefore, the Vongola group was given the hours between 12:00 to 14:00 and the last group got the 14:00 to 16:00 break. All in all, people were satisfied. Everyone get to go out and have some fun while the air conditioning system is getting fixed.

It might have been after breakfast, but was still too far from that positively needed hour. It was around eleven o'clock at the moment, and the two had no idea how to spend their time while waiting for the first group to return. Normally there would be some medical tests or at least some people running around the base and in an out of the infirmary by that hour, but today especially, almost everyone had been granted the long awaited break from duty. The main reason being that there wouldn't be any cases of dehydration among the workers.

Some of those who hadn't been given the spontaneous vacation were the chefs in the kitchens that still had to take care of the food supplies, a task that had been made more difficult since many ingredients that were normally supposed to be kept in the room's temperature had to be stored away due to the excessive heat. The ones in the intelligence and surveillance units could not leave their stations as well, since they still had to supervise and watch over the base's entrance in case something went wrong.

"Takeshi," Gokudera called from his side of the bed.

"hmn?" Yamamoto replied, mostly to show the other he was listening even though his eyes were closed.

"If I ever melt to a puddle because of the heat and drip all over the floor, would you promise me one thing?" the storm guardian asked as if it was going to be his dying wish.

"hmn?" Yamamoto replied a second time, not really processing the strange request yet.

"I want you to gather my remains in a bottle and give them to the Tenth." Gokudera said desperately and looked to the side to catch the other's reaction, he was not disappointed when he was met with a tired yet definitely genuine smile.

Yamamoto decided to go with it as he chuckled lightly at the ridiculous image that appeared in his mind when he thought of the words, "Why?"

"So he could drink it, of course. This way I would always be wi--"

A sudden knock on the door thankfully put a stop to the odd conversation as it drew the attention of the two boys. They were too lazy to get out of bed to get the door, though, so they just called whoever was knocking in.

"It's open." the storm guardian called with a raised voice so the people outside would hear him.

"You can get in." the rain guardian added in support to reinforce the invitation.

As the door opened, the room had suddenly seemed to get a lot livelier than it had been only a mere few seconds before. It proved that a seemingly massive arrival of numerous guests could easily serve as a measure to change the atmosphere.

Tsuna was the first one to enter, Reborn was sitting contently on his shoulder. Then came Ryohei together with his sister and Haru. The major cause for the difference in the room's general mood though, was probably the two kids than began running around the room from the moment they had passed through the door. Lambo and I-Pin did stop however, seconds after they had entered, to turn around and look at the frozen standing people that came in with them. It was a strange sight to see.

All of the guests, since even the wild children noticed the sudden halt, managed to get inside the room only to stop short in their tracks to double check whether they were hallucinating from the heat or there was something wrong with their eyes. None of the explanations were correct, of course, but they still had a good reason to doubt that fact.

Stumbling across the sight of their two friends, both sprawled across what they guessed were two individual beds drawn together to make a one, rather large, double bed. Up until then it could be explained, but from then on nothing seemed logical. The two guardians were shirtless and sweaty, panting yet still grinning with amusement at the reactions they were getting.

Reborn didn't really seem to care much, he already knew everything though, so it had been a given. It actually seemed as if he was enjoying the other's shock, as well. Lambo and I-Pin were just standing because everyone stopped and from their spot looked around around the room they hadn't seen before at base with inspiration in their eyes, desperate to explore the new territory. The rest though, were kind of shocked. Tsuna looked from one friend to another, his mouth silently voicing an 'EHHH?!' which could tell anyone he was surprised. Ryohei, since he was just so dense, was looking around dumbly and didn't understand why the girls were blushing.

"Ha-hi?" the Midori Middle School girl exclaimed with enthusiasm. "Gokudera and Yamamoto are sharing a bed?"

The rain guardian chuckled at the half innocent question. "Actually,--" he began,

"--we are sharing two beds." the storm guardian completed him with a soft smile.

Tsuna seemed to have gotten out of his shock and his eyes softened at the once again regular Gokudera. Not the one he had seen the day before who seemed all depressed and serious. He smiled brightly at the silver haired boy, who managed to catch the pleased expression.

"Hi, Tenth." the storm guardian greeted happily. His tired face expressing the complete devotion he held towards his boss. "Is there anything you need?"

'Only Gokudera could manage to look so enthusiastic while lying around in what seemed to be absolute misery.' the young boss mused. "Nothing at all, Gokudera." he said calmly, the smile still evident on his face. "It's just good to see you are acting more like yourself today."

The Italian was just glowing with dedication as he looked at his Tenth. His eyes were shining and his hands were closed tightly to keep his excitement from bursting out. Then he would have to move, and then it would all feel much hotter.

Ryohei looked around the room strangely, there was an enormous reservoir of bandages and many closets and drawers. It had been minutes since they had gotten into the room and he had been itching to ask a question.

"What is this place?"

* * *

_I would make this day the happiest in your life.  
__Today, you would hear something that you had yet to hear._

_It's been a bit since we talked, the two of us,  
__about what's going on around us.  
__Today, we would go for a walk in the neighborhood,  
__we would sit a little while on a bench in the garden._

_Today._

* * *

Going out for the first time in a long time had been an extremely fulfilling experience. The air, the sun, the sky, the birds, the trees and the ground. They could look ahead and see open spaces and not just a closed room. They could look around and see regular people living their lives. What was strange, though, was that both Yamamoto and Gokudera had planned to use this day to hang out with their friends yet it had been made impossible.

The group seemed to have quickly split up. There were the obvious ones of the guardians. No Hibari, no Mukuro either. Chrome was there for one moment, but then went to the cake shop with the girls and Bianchi. The Varia had also disappeared completely, with was not surprising, but with them disappeared also Tsuna and Ryohei. It was pointless to ask about Reborn, because he was always able to disguise himself and disappear without a trace. Those that had been left all went to do something they had planned to do, and, in the end, there were two who remained from the group.

It had all been so quick, the two thought, each to himself. In a matter of just five minutes, the entire group had narrowed to only two people. The two guardians looked at each other, each reflecting the other's confusion in his own eyes, as they both sighted simultaneously.

"Well, that settles it." Yamamoto said suddenly.

'Settles what?' the silver haired guardian thought. His obvious question drove the other to respond.

"Lets go out on a date today." he said cheerfully, as he grabbed Gokudera's hand in his and led him toward the town. The Italian was too surprised to comment on the statement so he just followed silently, only the silly grin smacked on his face could indicate what he was feeling inside.

They had two hours to do whatever they wanted, and they were determined to take advantage of any minute of those hours.

Once Gokudera had managed to get his mind to work again, he realized that taller guardian was leading him somewhere. "So where are we going?" he asked, hoping inside that the place wouldn't be too far away. The only difference between being inside the base to being outside in terms of the hot weather, was the soft wind that made everything feel better. The heat was still pretty much the same.

"Is it even a question? In a hot day like today there is only one place we can spend lunch time in." the rain guardian stated as if it was obvious. "Come on, let's get some ice cream." he smiled brightly and Gokudera could only smile back.

It seemed like just the fact of them being outside was doing a good job in taking off all their piled up pressure. It allowed them, for the first time in a long time, to relax. Which was an absurd in itself, because the only place that they were supposed to relax in was the base. Mostly because it was safe from almost anything and there were no dangers there. The base, as safe as it was though, made them feel closed and suffocated. It was probably another thing they attained during their imprisonment. The inability to feel comfortable in a closed space, however big and spacious it was.

They tried to make the most out of their day outside and used the money they had been given to not only eat lunch and ice cream, but to also go shopping for some new clothes to replace the not really matching ones they had been given. Their original ones had been destroyed, after all.

The time couldn't have passed faster for the two guardians and by the time they had noticed they only had twenty minutes left, they had to admit they had managed to sufficiently use it.

The two boys decided to sit down for a few minutes before they had to head back to base, so they went to the small park that was near the shopping district. It had still been there, even ten years later, and the guardians hurried to sit on the grass by the lake.

A peaceful feeling filled them at the soft waves that the wind had created in the water, the which birds were chirping quietly and the trees that were blocking the sunlight. For that one, serene, moment, there was nothing else in the park, nothing else in the world that existed other than the two boyfriends. Those two, who were sitting in a comfortable silence as they appreciated the small things in life that make the difference. There was no better way to make them relax then to allow them these quiet moments.

Those moments that concealed the memories, the pain and the scars, leaving only tranquility on the surface.

* * *

For once, they had had a normal day. As normal as it should be. And now the two guardians were sitting on their newly made double bed as they talked. The problematic system had been fixed and the heat was gone with the particularly annoying technical defect. It was some time after dinner but was still too early to go to sleep. So the infirmary roommates had taken to sitting on the bed and making a conversation that, for once, wasn't either serious or thought about too deeply.

"Hey, Hayato, could you maybe go get me a glass of water, please?" Yamamoto requested as he turned to look at the other boy with a pleading expression.

"Sure, no problem." the other guardian replied. He got up and filled a glass of water and in an instant brought it to the tall boy.

"And could you maybe get me some of the chocolates from that basket over there?" he asked, keeping the look on his face.

"Um, yeah, sure." the storm guardian answered and made his way to the small table where the Family's late 'welcome back' gift had been placed on. He looked at the many chocolates and chose some of each kind to bring the other boy.

"I don't like this kind." Yamamoto stated in repulsion at the ones that were brought to him. 'Just a little more.' he told himself as he waited to see how much more the green eyed boy would take. "Get me a different one."

"Alright." the Italian sighted and tiredly made his way once again to the large basket. He decided to be a bit clever this time and think ahead as he simply took the whole basket with him to the bed. It might have been a little bit heavy, but at least he wouldn't have to go back and forth every time the other didn't like what he chose, the Japanese boy was just too cute to refuse.

"Now that I think about that, I don't really want a chocolate." the rain guardian stated. The other boy turned around and with an irritated noise made his way to the table for the third time. Just as he sat back on the bed, the tall boy began talking. "I want an apple. Could you go get me one from the kitchen?

"Yes. Wait." Gokudera was caught off guard at that. "Wha-? No! Just because you are cute doesn't mean that I--"

"--Oh...so I m cute eh?" came the comment that cut through the silver haired guardian's words.

"You know what I mean." now he was embarrassed.

"No I don't." Yamamoto kept teasing, it was always fun to get these kind of reactions from the temperamental teen. He got closer to the other and reached with the palm of his hand to touch the other boy's pale cheek lightly, "Enlighten me" he practically purred in the other's ear.

Gokudera could barely feel himself by the time Yamamoto had bitten his ear a bit after the whisper and shakily followed the request. Without his mind in control it was much harder to resist the other boy.

"It's just that you always do that..." he didn't really know how to express it, that feeling. "That thing expression when your eyes look like...and your lips, the nose... you know." he sort of managed to confuse even himself with that incomprehensible sentence.

"…" how do you respond to such an explanation? Yamamoto definitely didn't have any idea. But it didn't mean the conversation had to be over.

"Don't worry, you are cute too." the Japanese teen stated with a tone that obviously told he meant it.

"What?!" the storm guardian exclaimed in astonishment. "But I don't want to be cute."

And right that moment he had realized what he had just said, more likely the way he had said it. Even he had to admit he had sounded cute, so he hurried up to open his mouth with every intent on fixing his mistake. "Scratch that, I'm not cute. Never had been, never will be." he said, trying to save his small bit of dignity.

"But you are." the rain guardian said with a smile, completely dismissing the other's protests. He was slowly finding an immensely satisfying hobby in teasing Gokudera.

"In what way am I cute then?" the green eyed teen inquired in defeat, the tall boy always seemed to win at the end of everything, so why fight it so much?

"You just are, might have been born with it actually." the Japanese teen mused with a taunting tint in his voice.

Gokudera suddenly lowered down his head and stopped arguing. The silver hair covered his eyes so Yamamoto, confused, couldn't see what was wrong. Perhaps he shouldn't have pushed him too much with jokes?

"You..." the Italian stared, his voice had an indication to a malicious intent behind it.

"Me...?" the swordsman asked simply, urging the other to continue the sentence.

"You," the green eyed guardian said as he looked up with an evil smirk on his face. Yamamoto could suddenly feel a sense of dread washing over him that made him unconsciously distance himself a bit from the other. "are going down." he finished.

And before the tall boy could even begin to think of a response, he was tackled down on the bed with Gokudera leering at him from above as he straddled his hips.

The storm guardian didn't pin him down to the bed or force him to keep lying on his back. The rain guardian could get away without trying too much. That was probable the reason to why he wasn't afraid. Beside, this was Gokudera who put him in this position, and not anyone else. It was safe.

The black haired guardian didn't get much time to think before his mind was cut off from the rest of him at the husky whisper that ghosted it's way to his ear.

"If you think I'm just going to take you teasing me all the time, without getting back at you," shivers ran down Yamamoto's spine at the hushed words. " then you are wrong." as teeth bit his earlobe softly his mouth released an involuntary gasp in surprise.

"Wh--What are you going to do?" he stuttered. It seemed like even his mouth couldn't function properly as well.

"Well, Takeshi. Gokudera said as he slowly bent down so that their lips could almost touch. And right before he lowered himself some more so his lips would really meet the other's, he said,

"Today, I'm going to take your breath away."

* * *

The beginning... what more can I say? It feels like summer outside for me and I can't stand the heat =\ air conditioner is working fine and all, but can't really have it on 24\7. I'm pretty much counting on ice cubes...

Anyway, see it as a filler chapter, next chapter is supposed to be a serious one.

I haven't stopped writing yet, so keep telling me how I'm doing please. I was telling the truth when I told you I get motivated when I read your reviews. It's what made me much more confident to change the storyline _that_ much in the first place.

The story is not over yet. ;p

Bye bye :]


	14. And I'm Calling Out to You

Misunderstandings could be easily forgotten once everything is clear again. And as long as it wasn't a prank like, 'Come on, let's make her believe she'd finished writing the story... hehe _that_ would be a fun thing to do' then I really have no problem with it. All is fine at the end :]

I was kind of aiming for hot, good thing it worked :] weather is not over thirty five degrees now so it's much better... yet it wouldn't snow here even in my dreams. Still keep wishing it would, though.

**Beautiful Feather** – The very first part is mainly because you specifically asked for it, though it did fit pretty well with what I had already planned...

Enjoy.

**Blanco: Chapter 13 – And I'm Calling Out to You**

* * *

_The sky did not inform of a storm,  
__even the sea was calm and quiet.  
__When I met you for the first time,  
__my life changed without a doubt._

_The flying bird had stopped,  
__it's breath was taken away for a moment.  
__When I met you for the first time,  
__it was a day a war ceased._

* * *

It was a quiet evening at the Vongola's underground base. Most of the lights were turned off as most of the residents were currently sleeping soundly in their assigned beds after the exhausting day they had. Some of the lights though, were still as dimmed as they had been since the sun had set as the residents took it upon themselves to entertain each other in their rooms so they won't have to stray the hallways and risk waking anyone. There had been a rumor going on at base, that a certain young cloud guardian was kidnapping and beating people who were wandering around the base in the middle of the night. It was just a rumor though, but it might be the only way to explain why the corridors were so empty every single night.

It was a good thing that there was no one passing through the hallways at that specific time of the day actually. Because had anyone passed by the door of a certain infirmary-room, they probably wouldn't have gotten any sleep that night at all. Inside that room, were residing two of the Vongola's tenth generation guardians. The storm and the rain.

"Today, I'm going to take your breath away." said the storm guardian to the rain guardian who was lying underneath him.

"Oh rea--" Yamamoto Takeshi couldn't do much to continue his retort as warm and passionate lips claimed his and took his words away. Then, strong hands and a pianist's fingers began running through his shiny, black hair and took his voice away. Next thing he knew, a tongue made it's way past his lips and took his mind away. And as his body combined everything together...

...it really did take his breath away.

The swordsman tilted his head to the side and allowed his lover complete control as he closed his eyes and only his instincts were guiding his responses. His black hair contrasted with the hospital bed's white covers as his head rested against the pillow. The storm guardian's silver hair tickled his skin with even the slightest movement, making him understand just how sensitive he really was for the first time in his life. With his eyes closed, the rain guardian could only feel himself drown further and further in the sensations that kept attacking his body with every single action.

Yamamoto didn't even seem to have the difficulty of refraining himself from pushing the storm guardian off him, he just wasn't scared. Mostly because there was nothing in this situation or these actions that was like what he had to go through back at that room the day they had been rescued.

They were not on the cold, hard floor, but instead on their warm, soft bed in _their_ own room. Gokudera's hands weren't rough as they wrapped around him when the kiss deepened, they were only loving and caring. The most important difference that was clearly obvious actually, was that he wasn't lying drugged, motionless while he was being forced by his enemy. He was fully aware and participating, he wanted to be with his lover this way, too. Furthermore, he knew his green eyed boyfriend would stop as soon as he asked him too.

The rain guardian's breath was restored momentarily as the exploring tongue retreated and the soft lips left his. It was only for a moment that he could fill his lungs with necessary oxygen before those sweet lips latched onto his neck and time seemed to freeze once again. At some point, he noted that the hands that were supposed to be in his hair had already moved and were currently occupied with unbuttoning his new shirt.

With every button he was done with, Gokudera lowered his head, biting softly and kissing passionately, leaving mark after mark. Each was accompanied by moans and gasps as healed fingers closed over his silver hair tighter and tighter. When the shirt was finally gone, his own hands began caressing the pale skin with loving motions, stroking up and down the lean, tall figure as it trembl--

"Ciaossu"

Oh, how they were beginning to hate this word...

'Reborn', both boys knew. Everything stopped like a sudden electrical blackout. The kisses and the moans, the caressing hands and desire filled shivers. They both looked to the side of their bed with wide, confused and shocked eyes, yet subconsciously stuck to each other like glue. When they finally realized the position they had been caught in, they had the grace to blush but, still, made no move to separate. A predator like Gokudera bent over a flushed and shirtless Yamamoto. Both were breathing heavily and the bite marks were extremely obvious.

And all the arcobaleno did was sit down in a comfortable position on the bedside table. He watched in silence as the two teens slowly got up and tried to ignore the other presence in the room when they settled comfortably against the wall. Actually, it was Gokudera who was leaning back on the wall with a pillow in between as Yamamoto sat between his open legs, his back to the other's chest. The two guardians, who were a bit busy buttoning the rain guardian's shirt back on, the taller one from the top while the storm guardian took the bottom, completely disregarded the Vongola hitman who was still waiting quietly.

"Are you two finished?" the baby asked, those two were being pretty rude. Ignoring him while fixing their appearance was one thing, but sitting while doing nothing without even greeting him was just rude. He didn't care he might have just rudely interrupted an intimate moment, had that been Tsuna instead of those two he would beat him off the bed and into the couch in mere moments. That was reserved just for the boss-in training though, maybe for the stupid cow as well on occasion.

"Yes, we a--"

"No, we are not finished, but what do you want?" Gokudera's answer cut angrily through Yamamoto's embarrassed one. He was so _frustrated_ at that moment that he just didn't care how much he could anger the Mafia's most feared hitman with his words.

It was a good thing that the small one was in a good mood then. He just smiled eerily at the words and enjoyed the small shudder that run through both boys simultaneously.

"Good news." he announced. "As of today, everyone can return back to the past."

The two guardians didn't need anything else to be said to become alert and attentive. The baby continued. "There are some issues though, that we have to be cautious about." he looked at the two guardians' confused expressions and explained. "The scientists reported that there was no problem with sending people back to the past, just that there might be a problem with how many people are sent back in the duration of how much time.

"It means that, as a precaution, it had been highly advised and proved by calculations as well that we send only two people back, with a two to three days wait in between. Any questions about anything I said before I continue?"

"Why would there be a problem with sending everyone back together, at the same time?" Gokudera asked with interest, why split them all up?

"Well, the researchers explained it as time was not something humans should mess with. The way we all ended up here for more than the regularly expected five minutes period, was unnatural and went against the laws of nature. Too much time had passed since the day we arrived until now, so no one wants to take any risks by messing with time and space more than needed.

"If you remember, even when we arrived, it was done separately and not all at once. I was the first, then there was Tsuna and Gokudera right after him. Simply put, there needs to be a certain time period of time which we would have to wait. In this case, something between two to three days, no longer, no shorter."

Without waiting for the boy's confirmation and questions this time, he went straight to the plan he came here to inform the two guardians about. "Basically, the order people would be sent to the past at was determined without many arguments. Civilians would be first, meaning Kyoko and Haru. Then, the children, I-Pin and the Bovino cow. Then the guardians.

"The first ones would be Mukuro and Chrome, the second would be Yamamoto and Ryohei. Then Hibari and Gokudera." he turned to the storm guardian for his next sentence, "Just figured you would want to stay as much as possible to watch over Tsuna." he said with a wink.

"Tsuna himself asked to stay last to make sure everything was fine and that everyone were safely returned to the past, I will stay here with him until then. Any objections to the order?"

At the moment there weren't any, or the two guardians were just too happy they were finally getting to return to their time.

"Oh, and one more thing." Reborn said. This time the expression on his face was much softer than they had ever remembered it being. "If you don't want the Family to notice your injuries, then I suggest you be more careful about taking your shirts off so casually."

At the puzzled expressions he was presented with, the baby decided to elaborate, "This morning, everyone saw your scars, Yamamoto." his statement made the tall boy freeze for a moment, now he understood where the suggestion came from. "The only reason no one had said anything was probably because they didn't want to intrude too much. Just like why they didn't really ask why the two of you were sleeping so close to each other.

"Basically, they don't know how to deal with you. They don't know how to talk with you, what to say to you. They don't know in what ways you would react to any of their actions and that makes them try to give you two as much space as they possibly can." the arcobaleno informed the two shocked teens who were sitting on the bed. "They had been taking part of a long fight and had to get the worried thoughts about you out of their minds in order to have enough concentration to survive the battle. Then, they get back and see you two all close to each other, getting hurt and distracted easily, depressed more often than not and, generally, acting not at all like the Gokudera and Yamamoto they remember you as."

"Gokudera." Reborn said, looking directly at the silver haired guardian. "More than anyone else, Tsuna had been worried about you. While normally you would run all over the place and want to stay every possible minute by his side, you locked yourself in your room with Yamamoto every single day between the meals." it wasn't really an accusation, but it seemed like the boy saw it as exactly that.

"I failed the Tenth?" the storm guardian asked, devastated, he didn't mean for something like this to happen! He just didn't want to worry the Tenth with his problems. His boss had probably already had too many inconveniences to deal with at the moment, he didn't need his right hand man to add to them, as well.

"He didn't say that." the rain guardian assured calmly. He looked sharply at the small figure who kept quiet by the bed and asked. "Right, Reborn?"

"Right." the baby answered truthfully with a short nod. "He just doesn't know how to deal with the changed 'you'" he tried to explain.

Gokudera wasn't buying that though, "But I still failed him." he said the second time, painfully believing every word he had just said. This time the disappointment in himself was clear in his voice. "He is worried about me. This is supposed to be the other way around, remember?"

"That's not the case, Gokudera." Reborn said quietly. "It's entirely Tsuna's fault he can't figure out the reason for your changes. I guess he just thought you would be rescued after they win the fight and then everything would be back to normal. He didn't really take the time to think about other possibilities that would matter at the time. The other factors that should have been expected.

"That's most of the reason why he was so shocked today. I don't think he even had thoughts like the other's had in his mind at that moment When he saw Yamamoto's scars he realized couldn't deny the fact that some things _had_ happened. Now, he just has to piece everything together and try to find a way for himself to deal with this new information. It's just temporary though, so don't think too much into it. He will come around fast enough."

Reborn knew those two needed this conversation, especially before they get sent to the past. Because going back to the past meant going back to the regular daily routine, going back to a place where they would be the only thing that didn't fit. In the future everything was irregular, every day was different than what they were used to and everyone had changed a bit to grow accustomed to the new environment. But once they are back, the two would be the only ones the changes had been so drastic in. The only ones who would stand out because of the scars thy bear.

"Gokudera had always been known to be temperamental and unpredicted, but," he paused and switched to look at the swordsman. "Yamamoto, you on the other hand, are different. _Everyone_, even Hibari and Mukuro, had noticed the change in your behavior. While they remember you being the carefree, always smiling, funny friend who was always there to bring everyone's mood back up whenever something bad had happened, you have undoubtedly become someone else to them.

"But, you two must be tired. So have a good night." the arcobaleno said all of a sudden, breaking the two guardians out of their concentrated states. They looked around with confusion as Reborn was not in the room anymore and just couldn't get the baby's sudden disappearance.

But neither expected to understand him. Reborn just had too many sides and layers for anyone, not just them, to be able to.

* * *

_And I'm calling out to you, don't go...  
__with my tired throat, exhausted heart.  
__Above our town, there was God's voice,  
__until I came and found you, my love._

* * *

By the time the sun had risen the next morning, news about the scientist's success had already passed through the entire base. All the residents knew, the young tenth generation was going home. Whenever people would see one of them, they would greet them friendly, congratulate and thank them for everything.

A week passed by fast enough and the days until Yamamoto's leave were becoming less and less. Haru and Kyoko had been successfully sent to the past and their parallel, older selves were back to their natural time in the future.

It was morning, and Gokudera woke up, opened his eyes and was faced with the adorable sleeping face of his partner. The black haired guardian was murmuring a sentence that it's contents couldn't be understood. The Japanese boy was just too cute sometimes, always doing something to make everything about him even cuter. Those moments were the moments he wished he had a camera so he could immortalize this peaceful scene. But he didn't have one, so he settled on just looking, staring without getting distracted by anything, etching the picture into his memories as best as he could manage.

Now that the date Yamamoto needs to be sent back gets closer, he finds himself unusually waking up before the other. How he wished he could just freeze time at that moment. To paralyze everything, the future, the past and the present. To stop reality, the mafia, the duties, the loyalties, the expectations and disappointments, fear, hate, recovery and pain. Stop the world right at that particular moment to just watch over the peaceful lover he held in his arms.

And right at that moment it dawned on him. The realization about the fact that for three nights and two days straight he wouldn't see his lover. That moment left him momentarily breathless as he couldn't remember even one, single part of any day that had passed since the two had been rescued. Not even one moment of being out of each other's reach if they had even been out of each other's side. Each would always wait for the other whenever they were either taking a shower or using the bathroom and one would never leave a room without the other following closely after.

The rain guardian had been watching his roommate making serious expressions one after the other for the last ten minutes. That is, until the storm guardian began pouting quite adorably all of a sudden. He didn't think the silver haired guardian had even noticed he was awake and watching him staring blankly into his face. It was pretty funny actually.

"Good morning." the tall guardian announced, he was fully awake.

"Mm." it was a really uninterested 'Good morning to you, too' kind of response, the pout was not gone, as well.

"You are sulking." Yamamoto stated in mild amusement. He was more concerned about the dejected mood than the way he found the cute pout funny.

"No, I'm not." the rain guardian smiled with interest as the adorable expression became even more obvious.

"Yes you are, and you are also making such a cute face right now."

"I'm never making cute faces." it was so fun, Yamamoto noted to himself, at this point Gokudera would probably deny anything that is said to him.

"You don't want to be separated." the Japanese teen said carefully, fun aside, they had to talk about it now. Before he left and the topic would stay open.

"I don't care about this!" the temperamental guardian responded in annoyance and froze as he understood the meaning of his words. He looked up at the tall guardian whose eyes were currently settled on a spot to the side with a distant look in his eyes. "Takesh--"

"--it's fine," Yamamoto whispered quietly. "But please don't say things like these again," his voice was a bit shaky. "Its stupid really, I know you don't mean it but it still... makes me think."

Gokudera's heart clenched painfully at the words that filled his soul with regrets. His hands seemed to work by themselves as they wrapped around the rain guardian in a hug that was accepted with no resistance.

"I do care. I just thought about how it would be to not have you with me for these three days."

"I know, I think about that too." the response was whispered into the other's neck. "How would I manage to sleep at night without your presence constantly there, by my side, calming me?"

* * *

_And I'm calling out to you, don't go...  
__even the sunlight isn't worth anything, in your absence.  
__Above our sea, were ghosts and demons,  
__until I came and found you, my love._

* * *

It was evening, exactly two and a half days since Mukuro and Chrome had been sent to the past. Now, the time for Yamamoto to return home had come. They have seen the success of the altered bazooka as no one had showed up again in the future once they have been returned to their time.

If it could even be possible, then the two guardians had kept even closer to each other than everyone had remembered them before. Almost as if any kind of separation would immediately lead to Yamamoto leaving. Maybe it was to make up for the anticipated three days of separation. Always keeping by each other's side, always touching to make sure their counterpart was then and there, right at that exact moment.

The tall guardian had an expression which held mixed emotions on his face, it created a strange combination between hope and relief with many expectations to despair and anxiety with many worries. He reminded himself over and over again he would see Gokudera in just a few days, that it would not be too long and everything was going to be fine. He was going home, he would get to see his dad again and the time he needed to spend without the storm guardian was going to pass before he would even notice.

Yamamoto Takeshi hugged his lover one last time and whispered lyrics in the silver haired one's ear that left him standing on the same spot for several long minutes even after the tall one was gone.

"I will embrace you tightly in my dreams,  
while now, in life, you are by my side, near my heart.  
When I met you for the first time,  
happiness and joy became different.

"And the wind would stop blowing soon,  
people would breathe freely then.  
And we would share, crying, laughing,  
a silent noise, sadness and joy."

* * *

Something wierd happaned wiith this chapter when I was writing it... I wrote almost half the the chapter and had to delete everything when it didn't go the way I liked it, so it took a bit longer to find the right way to write it in a way I would be satisfied. My logic is that the more satisfied I am with the chapter, the bigger the chance you readers will also like it.

The song, is a really amazing song. I thought it could fit pretty nicely with this particular chapter and decided to use it :]

Hope you enjoyed this one,

bye bye.


	15. A String's Resonance

**Blanco: Chapter 14 – A String's Resonance**

* * *

_With a string's resonance, playing, I think about you,  
__how sad it makes me feel, to be here without you.  
__If only you were here, everything would seem so different.  
__Nothing is clear to me, my heart is torn._

* * *

He had no clue as to where he was at the moment, but he knew that he wasn't where he had been just mere moments ago. Ryohei wasn't there and he began panicking for a moment that maybe he wasn't sent to the right place and time, but reminded himself that he was supposed to have changed places with his older self and not just land where he was when he got sent back. That fact had been really helpful actually, since when he first thought of where he was supposed to land once he arrived in the past the only thought had been the exact spot he had been in the future. He was so scared at first, that he might appear somewhere that's underground simply because he had been inside the base at the time when the ten year bazooka's alternate version had been shot at him.

Yamamoto opened his eyes and didn't have to wonder where his future self was heading for even a moment. Tsuna's house. It seemed the most probable guess since he only used that way to get to his friend's hose. He didn't keep walking from his place in the empty street though. He did however, decide to change the direction he was heading to. More than anything, he had wanted to see dad during those moments. It might be because he hadn't seen him for a long time and missed him, or maybe for the most logical reason that was because his father was dead in the future yet alive here, in the present.

Part of him was still there, in the future. And being apart of it made him feel sad and empty deep inside. Like there was nothing at the end of the string that connected him to that particular time, ten years in the future.

And then it dawned on him, the realization that it was over. The time in the future, the fears, the torture, the imprisonment, the wounds, the pain, the recovery, the support and the difficulties. It was all behind him, left in the future. But, as he understood that, he also came to realize that those weren't the only things he left in his future. He left his lover and best friend, his security and comfort, his peace of mind. Yamamoto suddenly saw what everyone else had seen in the future as they looked at the two lovers from the sides. He figured just how much he had gotten used to his silver haired boyfriend's presence. He was always there, they were _always_ together. For all those weeks, they hadn't left each other's side voluntarily even once.

Not during the time they were locked in a cell together, waiting with fear for the unknown time when they would be separated and forced to face reality alone. Not during the times he was asleep, or unconscious. Not during the nights or during the days. Not when they were surrounded by their friends and definitely not when they had been alone, just the two of them.

He was in the past, and that fact didn't give him as much comfort as he thought it would. And there was his house, just in front of him, he could see it. He could feel hope and freedom more than he had felt for a long time. He was no longer closed in that base, underground with no sunlight. So why? Why did he still feel as if he was being suffocated? Like his precious, essential air had been taken away from him?

And here he was, with all his conflicting feelings, standing in front of a door as if he was afraid it's handle would bite him once he touched it. The black haired guardian wondered just how his dad had dealt with his absence, it had been more than two months after all, and there was no way he wouldn't have noticed his only son's disappearance. 'Maybe if it had been before, two, three years ago, but not now.' he thought solidly as he subconsciously reached for the handle.

* * *

_Look at me, I'm like a madman,  
__who only wishes to be with you.  
__Or maybe just a blind man,  
__who can only imagine your face._

* * *

As the Vongola's swordsman passed through the door of the restaurant and walked further into the house, he called. "Pops, I'm home!"

And of all the possible responses he could have been expecting, he received the only one which didn't make any sense. It might have made everything feel so unnerving at the moment because it just seemed too casual to fit the situation, but that response was too difficult to interpret,

"Oh, Takeshi. I'm right here in the back, wait a minute I'll be right there." was he not surprised his son was back after so much time away from home?

Yamamoto just sat down in a random chair and didn't have to wait long to see his father walking into the room while looking at him strangely. Then, his face lit up in almost an instant, "You're back!"

Well, that exclamation was a bit delayed, wasn't it? Wasn't he supposed to be surprised when he had first announced he was back?

"Yes, I'm back." he commented quietly, still confused.

The sushi restaurant owner seemed to understand at least some of the confusion his son was experiencing, since he didn't waste much time to explain the reason for his surprise. "The older you said people were beginning to return, but I didn't think it would be that fast, he said you'd probably stay until almost everyone left."

'What?' the rain guardian's mind was not really working right now. Everything had just become even weirder and more confusing than it had been just mere seconds before. Some part of him told him he shouldn't be so shocked though. If he had just took some moments to think a bit about the situation, he wouldn't have been feeling this strange. Wasn't it always a possibility that the future him would want to spend time with his only recently deceased father? That he would want to make the most of his time in the peaceful past before he had to go to the painful reality that awaits him at his time? It had been a possibility, an understandable one as well.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in the mafia?" his father asked suddenly, his voice hard and restrained. 'He heard about that too?' the rain guardian thought with surprise, it seemed like his future self didn't waste his time at all.

Then he froze. If he had ever noticed the signs leading to an awkward conversation, then this was one of them. Would his father be disappointed in him? Would he give him the chance to explain? As he looked up to see his father's face he didn't expect to see the emotions which showed on it. He was surprised to see not anger, but worry and not disappointment, but understanding.

"There is no explanation." the dark haired boy stated simply as his eyes looked into his father's almost identical eyes, if his dad already knew about the situation, then there was no need to go around the subject. "I just didn't take it as seriously as I should have, before." there was some hint of regret which could be heard in his voice. Something that it's source his father could not figure out.

There was one thing that did stand out though, and that was the plain, obvious disappointment. Not the disappointment of the father in his son, but the one the son had in himself. Like there had been consequences that made him understand his mistake. It was not natural, the father concluded, this overwhelming feeling that his son was hiding much more than was healthy for him.

"Then, did something happen in the future to make you change your opinion about everything?" the confirmation was wordless. It was obvious that something_ had_ happened when his dark haired son straightened immediately after the question had reached his ears.

"Nothing much, dad." the guardian replied as calmly as he could, trying to fight the memories that came to his mind at the questions. His own eyes pained and haunted as he kept looking carefully into his father's eyes. "Just purely the fact that I was there, in the future. Nothing more."

What else could he tell him, what other answer would be possible and accepted? That most of his time in the future was spent in confinement? In the enemy's base, where he had been irreversibly hurt? Or maybe about all of the remaining days of treatments and recovery? The dreams at night or the haunting memories, the long silent moments or the shameful times of breaking down under the pressure of the situation?

No. he wouldn't tell his father about that. He wasn't ready to face him and tell him about all those things that took place ten years in the future. About the painful memories and insecurities he had been forced to suffer.

The older Yamamoto in the room saw the distress in the younger one's eyes. It was his question that caused that, it was his lack of knowledge of what had happened to his son that put that troubled expression on the young face. "Well, it's just good to know that you are back home." he welcomed, as he did his best to smile and make the teen feel relaxed once again.

"It's good to be back" the young swordsman smiled back, glad that his father didn't ask more about his transparent answer. "I think I might go and rest a bit in my room, I didn't get to sleep much last night" he said. 'And it has been a long day, and night. What with Hayato keeping me awake to tell me to be careful and that he would come just three days after me. Being nervous about going back was not much helpful, as well.' the young guardian continued in his thoughts as he waited for the older man's approval.

"Sure, I'll call you when dinner is ready, all right?" there was some change in the father's eyes that showed his reluctance to let his son out of sight so soon after he had returned, but he said nothing else.

"That would be great, thanks pops." the rain guardian grinned and got up from his seat to head up the stairs to his room.

He went up the stairs, one at a time, and suddenly felt relieved that his reunion with his dad had gone so well. They had sat and talked, and though it was not for a long time, it had still managed to ease some of his worries. Nothing had changed since he left, nothing was different, nothing was damaged.

Yamamoto slid the door to his room open but stopped on his first step into the forgotten bedroom, his eyes focused on the object that was inside and stuck out the most.

"Pops! What happened to my bed?" he called loudly, this was definitely not _his_ bed. He went back downstairs and looked at his dad's amused face as the older one stopped cooking dinner to look at the odd expression that appeared in front of him.

"Well, you know, the usual." he stated simply. "My son suddenly came home all grown up and adult like, and said there wasn't enough space on the bed for him and his _boyfriend_." this time he was actually smirking as he caught the young one's shocked expression. "Next thing I know, people in black suits come into the house with this bed asking where 'the Tenth's left hand man's room is'."

'Oh.' the rain guardian's mind wasn't really working at that moment, but he managed to process the one, major part that made his mind shut down immediately and almost completely. His father knew about the relationship, his relationship with Gokudera. It became even weirder when his dad just grinned slyly and went back to making the meal. Was he alright with it? Or did he not have anything to say about it? Is that why he didn't mention anything about it in the conversation?

The young mafioso had so many questions running around in his shocked head at that moment that he didn't even notice the way his own body began retreating back to his room. As he went step after step for the second time in a matter of minutes, he didn't look back even once. Something inside him told him he was running away, that he was walking away since he didn't want to face the possibilities. But the most dominant part of him told him to just keep going, rest and deal with it later.

He only regained control of his thoughts as he collapsed on the really large bed that stood in the middle of his room. It's black satin sheets felt different under his skin as he remembered the beds he had to get used to in the future. He closed his eyes and tried to rest for as much as he could before he would be called down for dinner. He didn't fall asleep, no, it was not possible. But he still allowed his body to relax against his mind's wishes and let the time pass freely.

* * *

There was a really awkward silence at dinner. The young Yamamoto just didn't know what to say and did nothing but push the food around in his plate as he, ironically, looked at it like it was the most interesting thing in the entire area.

Yamamoto senior, on the other hand, was eating his meal quietly despite being concerned about his son's change in behavior. One moment he had been so open, cheerful even, and the next he shuts himself down to automatic actions and responses.

"What's wrong, Takeshi?" he asked finally. He was too worried about the change in behavior to keep the silence anymore. "You know you can tell me, is it the food?"

The younger one shook his head slowly after failing to voice a 'no'. His father _had_ to know what was wrong, there was no way what he said before was a mistake. And the teen knew for sure that he hadn't misheard anything. But it might be his only chance to ask, so he pushed himself to put the words together to ask the question. No matter the consequences, he had to ask, he had to know.

"Do - do you have a problem with it?" he asked quietly, not feeling particularly confident in himself even a bit during those moments as he kept his eyes on the untouched food that had already gotten cold by the time he opened his mouth. "With my... relationship?"

Now, the sullen behavior could be explained. 'So _that's_ what it was! No wonder he seemed upset.' the father thought as he looked at his insecure boy with nothing but genuine surprise on his face.

"Of course not!" he actually seemed to be a bit offended by the question.

The rain guardian's head shot up at the unexpectedly unambiguous response. 'He didn't? Then, why...?'

"Why didn't you say anything when you brought this up then?" the son asked slowly, he was careful as he couldn't help being suspicious at his father's almost immediate acceptance.

"Oh. That." the older one said, almost as if he didn't expect that kind of question to be asked of him. His eyes strayed a bit to the side and a hand made it's way to awkwardly scratch his cheek. "It's just that..."

"That what?" the nervousness on the dark eyed guardian's face was visible and obvious even without his impatient questions.

"Well, I didn't want to ruin any chances of this relationship beginning. That is, by saying too much about it. Because it was ten years from now." the older, more experienced swordsman finally answered. "Wait. Does that mean the relationship had already begun?" he looked a bit shocked at his own revelation.

"...Yes." the young Yamamoto replied, unsure if it was still okay, this whole conversation was just _weird_. Would his father have a problem with it now that he knew th--

"Then that's good, as well." his father hurried to say with a carefree and supportive grin, shrugging all the younger one's worried thoughts away. "I like Hayato too, he is funny."

This... wasn't expected. That was the thought the rain guardian had in his mind as he absently allowed the conversation to keep going.

"Funny?"

"Yes, and cute too."

"Cute?"

"Well, yes." the older man answered with amusement clearly written on his face. His son's shocked features were just too fun to ignore. "You know, he would always be here together with you, well, the older you, running all over the place to take care of you." then he pointed to the couch that could be visible through the open door to the small living room, "I will never forget how cute he looked when he accidentally sat down on your older self's lap instead of the sofa. He became so nervous because he didn't know how I would react at this time, but when he tried to get off you wouldn't let him."

The young Vongola guardian just didn't know what to think when he saw his father trying to stop himself from laughing without much success. It was odd, definitely weird, it might be a bit awkward, but he couldn't argue that it might as well be the best reaction he could have gotten from his father about this issue. At least for that one moment of realization, he was satisfied, he felt calm, he could feel warmth and confidence inside, he was content.

He was accepted.

* * *

_No, don't give up, accept me,  
__because every day that comes and goes,  
__is eternity without you.  
__See me as a child who is suffering._

_Embrace me, I'm already falling apart here._

* * *

The black haired rain guardian turned once again in his large, new bed. He had turned over and over so many times in the past hour that he had lost count of the actual number. It didn't take him long to come to the conclusion that this bed was definitely not meant for one person to sleep in, it was simply too big. He didn't want the extra space either, the size of the bed could only make him feel bare and vulnerable. It really didn't help that he missed the warm arms around him, pressing him against a firm chest that would make him feel safe. And it goes without saying that he would rather sleep in his lover's arms on a small, uncomfortable bed than sleep by himself on his current bed.

Sleeping alone in this bed made it feel as if it was empty, as if there was something missing. He had a lot more space left than he had ever gotten used to. The worst thing was, that this bed made him feel the longing more than anything else. It made him think of the only person he wanted to be there with him, sleep by his side and comfort him just by being present.

He knew, without a doubt, that the feeling he was experiencing at that moment was a simple, true, unconditional love. He loved Gokudera Hayato in a way that left him feeling breathless, lost and completely out of control. The uncontrollable need to have him next to him during every hour of the day was more than enough proof of that. The knowledge that the mere presence of one person was enough to keep him from going insane was hard to accept, but it felt too right and fit too well that he couldn't find himself rejecting it for even a moment.

And for the first time ever since his nightmares had begun he was scared. Scared of those haunting hours of the night that he would have to deal with without the comforting touch of his lover. Those nightmares of that horrible pair of hands, of taunting words and pointless torture.

Yamamoto tried to make himself calm down by pushing the disturbing thoughts away, the fear and the worries would do nothing but make everything appear even worse. They would do him no good but add to his confusion and pain. He tried to find something else to think about and, at that point, _anything_ else would have been warmly welcome, when a single, comforting thought that made him feel warm inside came to his mind. This thought was the only thing that made him relax and slowly close his eyes with surrender to the oncoming sleep. He falls asleep then, his hand on the cold, empty spot beside him that felt so cold without his storm guardian filling it, as he hangs on to that one thought that would eventually make him pass through the night.

Tomorrow, he would meet the rest of the family.

* * *

_With every day that comes and goes,  
__I keep calling out to you,  
__hoping you would still find me a place,  
__between your arms._

_Know that it would be different,  
__but don't give up on me,  
__tell me you are coming back to me._

* * *

Next chapter: Both Hayato and Takeshi meet their future lovers :]


	16. Until tomorrow

**Blanco: Chapter 15 – Until tomorrow**

* * *

_Away from home,  
__the path back is gone,  
__you walk on a narrow rope._

_The nights are long.  
__Without knowing why,  
__running away, chased by no one._

* * *

Gokudera was sitting alone on the hospital bed in his now personal infirmary room. Going by the clock that stood by the bed, it had been almost half an hour since Yamamoto left the room to the training area of the base so he could be sent back. That half an hour couldn't have passed any longer than it had.

The storm guardian felt like he had lost all of his energy, like he couldn't get up from the bed and walk over to the door to head towards the dining room. Just three more nights, he reminded himself. Two more days, three more nights. Actually, he would be sent some time during the third night, so that makes it two and a half nights and two days. Not much of a change though.

He was too occupied by his thoughts to notice the sound of a door opening. As his eyes were closed with concentration, it was impossible for him to see the person who passed through the door and closed it softly.

"Yo, Hayato."

The young Italian looked up at the voice and was startled to see the twenty five years old version of his lover, leaning comfortably on the wall as his arms were folded on his chest. At that moment, he absently noted that his name could not have sounded more pleasant than it just had. The way the syllables rolled off that tongue, slipped through those lips, and cut through the air to freeze his thoughts and coax his head to look up.

He looked up into the same dark eyes he had gotten so used to during the last two months. The same dark eyes that looked at him lovingly back. The eyes might have been the same color, same shape, but there was a very clear evidence that this was not his Yamamoto. Those eyes just seemed more mature, wise and intelligent. In fact, the older one's entire posture seemed to radiate confidence and experience. He looked a lot more at ease, laid back.

And at that moment he didn't need many thoughts in his head to tell him the obvious. The person standing in front of him had undoubtedly grown up in an interesting way. It was not the Yamamoto he was used to, it was not the same rain guardian. This person had been his swordsman at some point in the past, but he had clearly not stayed the same. Ten years could do a lot to a person, he reasoned.

And a lot of good at that, he was at a loss of words.

It was a good thing then that Yamamoto still had his own ability to talk. "You can't be sitting here, all alone, because you are depressed about me, right?" he asked with a knowing look. "My past self is probably back at home, eating dinner with dad right now."

Seeing that there was no reaction, the older one just kept talking as he walked closer to the bed. "He would probably be talking to the Hayato from my time some time later. They would sit in his apartment while he tells the younger me some things about the past ten years. About how I--"

"--No, don't tell me." Gokudera pleaded suddenly. He didn't want to hear those words from his future lover. "After everything is back how it was supposed to be, and everyone are back where they are supposed to be, then you won't need me, I know." he really didn't need to be told about that. "You'll have your father, you'll even have everyone else because they wouldn't feel so detached when the environment is what they are used to. And you and me..." he lowered his head from the shocked look on the swordsman's face. "We would just be friends, you won't need me anymore. everything will be different and regular once again."

Yamamoto looked more than shocked though. He was confused and couldn't understand at first why the young one was acting that way. What was the most difficult thing was that the younger one actually seemed to believe the words that came out of his mouth. He got closer, this might not be his Gokudera, but he would be damned if he left him with such baseless worries. He got closer and laid his hand over a hunched shoulder.

"I _will_ tell you." the adult Yamamoto said firmly, deliberately emphasizing the 'will' to make it clear to the other he would not leave that particular issue open. He continued even as the young one looked up and opened his mouth to object. "Because you are wrong."

Where was nothing at that moment that would have made Yamamoto as content as he felt when he saw the spark of hope that lit in those amazing green eyes. "Wrong?"

"Wrong." he confirmed with repeat of his words. The swordsman's sharp eyes shone with satisfaction at every word that came out of his mouth from that moment on. "I am proud to tell you, and anybody else for that matter, that even after ten years of constant struggles, fights and obstacles, I have never stopped and still love the person named Gokudera Hayato in a way that I have never loved anybody else in my entire life."

The words sunk deep inside the storm guardian's arms and filled him with so much warmth he could barely feel anything else at that moment. He had a crimson blush on his face and couldn't find his voice even if he had wanted to.

It was actually pretty late by the time the two had settled the issue and decided to go sleep. But even with the entire discussion behind them, Gokudera still had no idea what to expect from his boyfriend's older self. They were already sitting by each other's side on the improvised double bed, but the older one did nothing to indicate he was going to sleep despite the fact that the silence was practically screaming for the two to turn off the lights and lay down on the bed.

Something in Yamamoto seemed to begin working once again as he returned back to reality from his thoughts and laid down. He looked up at the silver haired boy who kept sitting and tugged lightly on complimenting shirt the boy wore. Satisfied that he had successfully managed to draw the other's attention, the dark haired guardian patted the spot closest to him on the bed and looked from it to the blank look on the pale face in front of him.

"Come on." he said tiredly, encouraging the young guardian to lay beside him.

Gokudera slowly laid down and was surprised as a strong arm pulled him closer to the warm body of the older man. He was practically laying his head on the other's man's chest instead of the pillow as his right hand was on the waist. He didn't even notice the blanket that was pulled to cover the two of them. All the storm guardian could focus on was the beating heart he could clearly hear and the soft breathing that he could feel underneath him.

With that, he fell peacefully asleep.

* * *

_You shouldn't think  
__when you are so tired.  
__Go out for a walk in the sunrise._

_We were here before,  
__in a reversed role.  
__Walk quickly, exhaust your body._

* * *

Yamamoto had a restless night. Tossing, turning, struggling against no one but the blankets. While everything around him was quiet and everyone outside were either still asleep or just beginning their day, the rain guardian couldn't enjoy those calm moments that separate the night and the day. With no arms around him, to hold and stop him, he even fell twice, something that should have been made even more difficult than it had been before since he had that large bed all to himself.

One moment he was in his bed, asleep. The next he wakes up sweating and panting, his body shaking from the force of the nightmare he had just had. As his mind was almost completely blank, he decided with not so many thoughts to go take a walk to clear his mind, it always used to work for him in the past. Without even waiting for his body to calm down, he got up from the bed. From then on, everything he did until he got out of the house was hurried. Washing his face, throwing some random clothes on and putting on the first pair of shoes he saw. He was hurrying to get out of the door, to run away from his haunting memories.

And soon enough he was out of the house, pacing slowly in the night's cool weather. At first, he was walking randomly, he had no idea where he was going, just that it was somewhere else and not where he was at that moment. Then, he became so frustrated when he couldn't get the thoughts off his head. It was too frustrating to feel the storm raging in his head while he looked around and saw everything moving, people walking to their planned locations while he didn't even know where he was heading. It was like he had nothing. It felt so empty inside him even though his mind was full of thoughts and memories.

The tall boy was running then, without direction, running away from the new ordinary reality around him. But then he thought of the place that held more freedom in it than everything else, a place that always held hope, even for someone like him. Suddenly, he had a direction. He ran and ran for long minutes until he finally got to the seashore, and stopped only when he was sure he was as close as he could be to it. And he just stood there, stood there and watched the vast wonder as it symbolized the epitome of freedom to him. He couldn't bear to look away from the horizon, not until he was sure that this was not a dream.

It was almost as if it was comforting him. The calm waves whispering to settle his crying spirit, the cool wind that touched, caressed his face and surrounded him completely, making him feel as if he would never be alone and the soft, encouraging sunlight that illuminated his tired eyes and lit a single, rare spark of inspiration and hope in them.

Yamamoto didn't know when he started running. He didn't know what time it had been when he left his house. He didn't even know if he had a plan where to head to. He only knew one thing. He knew that he had tried to keep going or his thoughts would have eaten him from inside out. And as he stood there, completely enclosed by the enormous regular phenomenon.

By the time he had noticed what was happening, the sun had already risen, it was not night anymore, it was not a dream anymore. He was back home in the past, in _his_ present_,_ and everything should be okay from here on. At that moment, all his thoughts, all his nightmares, were gone. All he could be focused on was the sunlight that told him clearly what he had been looking for when he was running.

The dreams were gone, he was home, he was safe, he was free, he wouldn't get hurt and he wasn't alone.

A wonderful moment had come to an end as the rain guardian found himself once again. He turned back, free of his regrets and fears for the day, and began heading back home. The walk back was slow, but at least it was peaceful. It didn't take him long though now that he had his direction, time seemed to be in his favor as well.

As he entered his bedroom and walked towards the bed, he was suddenly aware and became relieved and thankful that in his rush to get out he had at least remembered to change from his pajamas to regular clothes.

The rain guardian decided to go back to sleep, or maybe just close his eyes and rest for some time, he got into his bed and covered himself with his new blanket. But he couldn't. He couldn't relax because the moment he closed his eyes he felt lost, like he wasn't in his home, on his bed, safe and protected, but somewhere else that made him miss the arms around him twice as much as he had before. Just as he thought he couldn't sleep well without his lover's arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and waist, he had a really disturbing thought.

What if the other boy didn't want him _here_? Here, as in during the time of normal circumstances. No bases and battles, enemies and allies, no kidnappers or torturers, no cells and no locks. Just school, home, friends, just the regular every day life. What about the mafia though? Even if he might consider this as a regular factor, should he? Won't situations like this always be a possibility?

Why would Gokudera want him now, when everything is fixed? It just didn't make sense to him when he thought about the situation then and the situation now. Those were, literally, two different worlds. Now that they weren't in a cell, now that they weren't locked in the base, now that they weren't assigned the same room. Why would he want him? Someone as troubled as him, as _damaged_.

But then he stopped thinking. The course of his thoughts was not just disturbing, but dangerous as well. And at that moment of rational thinking, he had no idea what made him make the connection, but he realized something important. He had realized that the Gokudera from the future had bee right there, in that time, most probably at some point in that specific place, if to judge by the bed he was sleeping on.

The night before he was more intent on meeting his dad than anything else, that now that it was done with and his thoughts had changed their direction to the Family, to Gokudera, he could see what he had missed. Thats right. In the mean time he could meet the Gokudera from ten years form now and everything would become much clearer to him. After all, if their future selves were still together as his father had mentioned, then there should be nothing to worry about. This theory was actually pretty reassuring, he thought to himself contently.

It took him about ten minutes of straying thoughts to become aware of the fact that he would not be able to get any more sleep than he had already gotten as he hoped. So he got up and decided to take a long, refreshing shower that would help keep him active and awake for the rest of the day.

It was already around 9:00 when Yamamoto sat down at the table in the kitchen by himself. His breakfast had already been made and was set on the table earlier by his father who left a note by it that said he had to open the restaurant and would see him later that day. He ate breakfast slowly and finished it completely, not letting anything go to waste.

The rain guardian got ready, got out of the house and almost instinctively, headed towards Tsuna's house. Halfway there though, he was stopped in the middle of a street by a demanding voice coming from his left.

"Takeshi! You said we would spend the night at my place yesterday!" the forceful voice called, startling some of the people who walked down the street into a stop to look around in caution. He, himself had turned around in his curiosity to see a tall, handsome silver haired man coming to a stop in front of him, towering over him. Just when did he get over there? "And to think I fell asleep on the couch waiting for you to come. That was really mean, you know that?"

Yamamoto could not find it in himself to talk at that moment, the only thoughts that seemed capable to survive his chaos of a mind at the moment, were thoughts about just how could his green eyed lover still be able to pout in such a convincing and adorable way, even though he was ten years older? Way over twenty?

"Is there something wrong?" now, the heavenly voice was concerned. He looked up and at that moment Gokudera seemed to have noticed the difference in heights, "Oh my, of course there is, I definitely didn't get enough sleep to confuse you with your older self. When did you get back?"

"L-Last night." he murmured, blushing slightly as he caught sight of the two bright eyes. It felt really awkward all of a sudden, how was he supposed to act around this Gokudera? His eyes strayed to the side, focusing on a random part of the pavement from the other side of the street. "I was somewhere outside the house, it was around this place too, so maybe I was planning on going to meet you at that time."

"Ah, I see." the storm guardian said as he figured out what happened. His nerves were screaming at him to be alarmed as he could feel _stares_, and, truthfully, when he looked around he saw that they were practically surrounded by observing bystanders. Not liking the idea a conversation of his would be eavesdropped on, he turned once again to the young Yamamoto, a bit startled as he was not used to see his lover at the same height as him, and whispered, "Come on, let's go to my house, it's a lot more private than _here_." as he emphasized the word 'here' he gestured to the people who were still standing around them, oblivious.

The invitation came so fast, so the young one answered automatically without even thinking. "Sure, let's go." he didn't think he could have ever said no to that request, or any other request coming from that blissful mouth. The older Gokudera just seemed so... irresistible. It made him doubt if anyone would ever be able to say no, to refuse someone like that.

The walk going to Gokudera's house was quiet, but luckily, it was also very short. It didn't take the two of them long before they were already inside the rented apartment. A small apartment that had all the necessities. Two rooms – a bedroom and a living room. The bathroom door was located somewhere along one of the living room's walls and in between everything there was a small kitchen that had only elementary stuff like a fridge and an oven.

In the living room stood a large piano and it took the most attention, even more than the bed in the swordsman's own room did. There was a couch and a small table with a newspaper and a used cup of coffee on it. Everything seemed so surreal at that point, it was strange but, at the same time, not unwelcome.

The Japanese boy sat down after the older one asked him to feel free to move around if he wanted something. As he was accompanied by the other one, they both sat in an awkward silence. Gokudera had his hands clutched tightly on his tights as he nervously asked Yamamoto if he wanted something to drink. The order of the things didn't really make sense, but the tall boy complied. Anything to save the two of them from the oppressing silence would have been accepted during that time.

"Just... just water please." he replied quietly and let out a small, relieved sigh as the other got up and made the short way to the kitchen.

Gokudera practically rushed to get the water the minute he heard the words, so fast he nearly fell down on his face when his accidentally hit the table's leg. He cursed loudly, blushed as he realized Yamamoto was there and ignored the pain from his leg in favor of getting the job done.

The rain guardian kept his gaze on the silver haired one's back and tried to keep himself from laughing out loud by covering his mouth with both his hands. The storm guardian looked so nervous. Things were falling left and right, mostly things he didn't mean to touch. It was the glass of water that fell though, accompanied by an 'oh, shit' and an hurried rush to get a towel, that finally broke the control the young one was trying to keep on his laughter.

The Italian stopped everything to look at the laughing teen as an embarrassed blush crept over on his face. He guessed his actions probably did seem pretty funny.

"Why do you look so nervous?" Yamamoto asked suddenly, his face a bit flushed from laughing but still seriously. it was just getting too difficult to ignore. "Shouldn't you be used to me by mow? After ten years?"

Gokudera seemed to get the meaning behind the questions easily, "It's just that," he said, his confidence seemed to be seeping out of him constantly. "I don't know how to be around _you._"

"What do you mean?"

"You," the older one began to explain, somewhat struggling with the words. "are from the past." he stated, as if it was not obvious.

"Okay" Yamamoto confirmed slowly, waiting for the other to continue.

"And there might be a possibility you would be able to have a future different than ours."

This time, only a short nod was used as a reply.

"So I don't want to make a mistake," he expressed himself at last, "that would make you think that after ten years you might..." he drew the explanation once again.

"I might?"

"You might..." Gokudera just couldn't make the words come out of his mouth. He cursed himself in his mind about the fact he was acting so nervous. The kid was ten years younger than him! He shouldn't feel this way.

The rain guardian got up and sat in front of the older guardian, looking up at him from his new position on the floor. His face held a peaceful expression with innocent eyes and a disarming smile, "I might?" he repeated with hope that asking it this time would work better.

"You might regret the choice to be with me." the answer was so short, so feeble, barely a whisper. Yamamoto was sure he heard right though.

He couldn't understand where the irrational fear came from until he realized that this was still Gokudera he was talking to. The same Gokudera who had to face rejection from a young age. If only reassuring the relationship would make the difference between a happy storm guardian and a depressed one, then it was not even a question whether or not he should say something.

"At the moment," he said, and brought the older one's face to look directly at his with his two palms as he said the next words."I can't see my life without you."

At the shocked expression he got from the pale face, he continued, getting more and more of the feeling that his future lover really needed the reassurance. "Not now, not ten years from now, not even twenty. I would always need you by my side."

And it was worth it. The relaxed smile that appeared so suddenly on the storm guardian's face was priceless. He knew now, that his words were truly heard, he had actually managed to calm the other's worries. With that, he sat back on the couch and as he couldn't take his eyes off Gokudera's still hunched figure, his eye caught something interesting.

Yamamoto suddenly smirked evilly as he pointed at the storm guardian's neck. The pale skin was marked rather skillfully with small, red spots that stood out clearly. Gokudera, who looked up to check why the younger boy became quiet noticed the pointing finger, the focused eyes and the unintended alluring smirk. The young man blushed and instantly covered the bite marks with his left hand as he looked to the side, embarrassment clear on his features.

"_My_ Takeshi had a bit of a problem with leaving me here all alone once he noticed people were beginning to return." he said slowly, his voice awkward as he explains. "So, he made sure every day and every night--"

"--Don't. Stop, I don't want to hear this." Yamamoto cut him off. Now, he was the one blushing while Gokudera was chuckling quietly.

* * *

It was morning. The infirmary room was occupied by only one of it's original residents. The silver haired guardian was sleeping rather peacefully on the improvised bed until he was forced into awareness by a sudden knock on the door.

Gokudera opened his eyes while his mind was still fighting the urge to slip into the serene slumber he had just gotten up from. He sat up, still on the bed, and looked around to see that he was the only one in the room, the rain guardian wasn't there. It wasn't too much of a surprise though, because he could vaguely remember being woken up some time ago and told something about going to greet everyone he missed the night before. With the realization that he was alone in the room, the storm guardian got up from the bed lazily and went to get the door. It was his boss. Any exhaustion he might have had seemed to have flown straight out of a metaphorical window.

"Good morning, Tenth!" he greeted enthusiastically. Had he ever had a tail, it would definitely be wagging at that moment.

"Good morning, Gokudera. Did I wake you up?" he took in the ruffled look of his friend and wondered, "Maybe I should come back later?"

"Not at all, it's alright Tenth, you can come by whenever you wish to." the storm guardian assured with a bright smile. "You are always welcome wherever I am." he sat down on the bed and pat the part of the bed next to him as if telling Tsuna it's alright to sit on it. "Is there something I can help you with, Tenth?"

The Vongola boss took on the offer and settled beside his faithful right hand man on the bed. "There are some thins I thought we should talk about." he said and as he looked at the other boy he caught the anxious expression his words caused, "Not about bad things. Just... things." he hurried to say, though it didn't do much better to ease the building anxiousness.

Tsuna knew that at that point, nothing but going straight to the point would help his guardian understand, so he began talking. And Gokudera listened. He listened as the brown haired boy told him about the time the rest of the family had been informed about the fight and the capture that followed it. He listened as he was Tsuna described the Millefiore's fighters and the many reasons the why and how battle lasted so long. He listened as he was told about people like Irie Shouichi, Uni and Byakuran who all held important roles in the game of 'Choice' and the eventual fights that took place, the winners' achievements and the losers' damages.

Then, the topic changed. This time, it was the storm guardian who was talking and Tsuna was the one who was listening. The Italian knew the time would come when he would have to give details about the events which took place during that particular period of time no Vongola other than the two involved guardians, Reborn and Shamal knew of. He knew he couldn't avoid telling his boss about it forever.

So Gokudera stopped his emotions and needs from surfacing and told the other boy about the time in the cell from the beginning. About the moment they were captured, about the time they woke up and had to wait two days until they knew anything. He told him about the times he and the rain guardian met Gamma and what happened to them in a way that was almost clinical. He was detached from the story, but without even noticing, he had shortened the entire story drastically. He did mean to leave out one thing though, and that had been Yamamoto's last part of the story. It was not his story to tell, it was Yamamoto's. At some point during the talk, Tsuna suddenly stopped him from continuing.

"Could you...is it possible for me to, maybe..." he began, not really knowing how to voice his request. "Can you show me? Your scars?"

Gokudera looked at his boss with confusion. He really didn't want to and couldn't see much of the reason why, but it looked like Tsuna had really wanted to see the physical evidence himself. Maybe so he wouldn't get a shock like what happened with Yamamoto if he ever saw the scars by accident for the first time. Or maybe because he hoped it wouldn't be as severe as his thoughts made it seem. It didn't matter, Gokudera reminded himself after a moment of thought. His boss was asking something so simple from him, just to take his shirt off and show him his back.

He got up from the bed, took a few short steps backward, turned around and began undoing the buttons of his shirt. The silver haired boy closed his eyes as he allowed the shirt to fall soundlessly to the floor from his body. He waited for a few moments, giving the other boy the time to look at the long lines that branded his pale back. During those moments, nothing was said.

And then, while making himself act as if nothing had happened, Gokudera sat down on the bed once again, and continued his story. His eyes had a distant and hollow look in them as he kept telling about the varied events that took place. When they had gotten out and what happened between the time they had returned to the base to the time they rest of the Family had arrived. The time he and Yamamoto had spent in recovery and some of the major treatments they had to receive.

"And I quit smoking." Gokudera said, concluding the grim tale with a much lighter context. The pride which could be heard clear in his voice was accompanied by a satisfied grin. "Well, to be honest, I _had_ to quit, it was kind of forced on me since there was no access to cigarettes there..." he blushed slightly as he caught sight of Tsuna's awed expression.

"But, Gokudera." the Japanese boy began, "Somehow, I get the feeling there is something you are still not telling me." he said honestly.

Guilt was a nasty feeling, the green eyed boy decided at that moment. Conscience wasn't that pleasant, either. "There is." he confessed with shame as his eyes strayed to the door, escaping wasn't an option, though. "Forgive me Tenth, but please don't ask me about that. I don't want to hide anything from you, but I don't think it's my place to tell you about another person's circumstances."

Tsuna was surprised. It was the first time Gokudera had ever hesitated around him, the first time he had ever denied him something. But it was still easy to tell that this had not been just because the storm guardian didn't want to tell him, there was something more. There was someone, that 'person', Yamamoto. And it was understandable. He nodded and said,

"Alright, I promise I won't ask." he seemed to know that had he asked the second time, despite the sincere request, he would get the answer but lose his loyal guardian's trust. The answer was not worth it.

The grateful look he received from the Italian told him he had said and done the right thing by ignoring his own curiosity about the mysterious matter. "But if there ever comes a time you would need to share something, _anything_ with me, don't hesitate." he finished with an expression that told just how persistent he was about his own request.

Suddenly, Tsuna looked up and his hazel eyes met his storm guardian's emerald ones. "You have changed Gokudera, a lot." he stated seriously.

And the right hand man could begin to feel his heart breaking. He knew this topic would rise at some point, but he secretly hoped it would be left alone. He just couldn't. He just didn't feel he could survive being rejected by Tsuna as well.

"Tenth--"

"--No. Let me finish." the Tenth Vongola boss asked.

"You know, Gokudera," Tsuna began as he looked down at his hands in concentration while he tried to find the right words. "Yamamoto and you, the both of you don't have to feel so awkward around us. I know that the two of you have changed, I know that you wouldn't be the same, everyone else knows that too."

"Tenth," Gokudera began, he didn't want his boss to worry about these kind of things. He was stopped though, by the small palm that was raised to tell him Tsuna had not finished talking. And the young boss continued his words, gaining confidence with every word that enhanced his already strong need to make his guardian understand,

"In this war, this battle, everyone have changed." he said, once again looking up at the storm guardian's eyes. The eyes that seemed to ask for an explanation. "Some lost part of their innocence while others learned to grow up, some had to learn how to sacrifice while others had to find their strengths and weaknesses, then figure out how to deal with them. And while I had to change and learn how to make vital decisions with almost no time and fully accept my role as Vongola the Tenth, you two had other things to deal with, no less important than everyone else's.

"And I want you to know, that I accept everything, that I understand the need. I can understand the fact that when you were faced with difficult situations and were not in an ideal state, you had to change. I understand that there was no other way for you to deal with what you have gone through and what you have been forced to suffer. And I accept the person you have become, so I don't want you to feel, for even a moment, that you have to change back to what me and everyone else are used to. We would just have to get used to the new personality, the new temper and everything else that came with this change. Same thing with Yamamoto, of course."

The sincerity in the words, and the silent request for them to be accepted made Gokudera's eyes shine with devotion and appreciation. He could feel that through every sentence that came out of his mouth, Tsuna tried to convey his thoughts about everything combined with his support. The changes, the difficulties, the worries. The young boss was trying to reassure his reliable right hand man that no matter what, he would stand by his side.

And the storm guardian could understand that, and he could see the logic behind it. So he accepted it without even one moment of doubt.

"I know that now, Tenth, thank you." he expressed his understanding, a small smile showed on his pale features. "You care."

It might have been a simple answer, but Tsuna understood. "It's good to know, then." he replied with a mirroring smile of his own. He looked at the clock that stood on the bedside table, and then at the door. "And I think I have to go, there are some places I promised to be in. You don't have any problems with me leaving now, right?"

"Of course not Tenth, I would never want you to miss other appointments because of me."

Tsuna got up from the bed after he sent Gokudera an appreciative smile, headed towards the door, opened it and disappeared from the guardian's sight as the door closed after the boy. The young Vongola boss may have left the room, but seemed to have left his lucky charm as well. It looked like the charm Kyoko had given to the Tenth, and the right hand man knew of it's importance to his boss. It had probably fallen from his pocket or something as the boy got up from the bed and didn't notice it's absence.

So Gokudera hurried to get up from the bed, threw his only recently discarded shirt unceremoniously on himself and quickly ran to catch up and give his boss the forgotten item. As soon as he got out of the room he could see that something was wrong. Well, not wrong, but strange. It seemed like Tsuna wasn't even in the corridor, no one was, until he heard something that caught his attention almost immediately. There seemed to be hushed voices coming from right after the first corner to his left. Slowly following, he stopped a step after the turn as he was presented with the most disturbing sight.

His beloved Tenth was pinned to the base's concrete wall as his arms were held tightly above his head by none other than the Varia leader, the infamous. Xanxus. The two didn't even acknowledge his presence because they had been too busy with each other's mouths to notice him, standing there as his own lips parted with a startled gasp. He would have thought it had been some kind of misunderstanding at first. But as he kept watching without the ability to move, his shock erasing any guilt he might have felt for witnessing that moment, he heard his boss' pleasure filled moans and lack of struggle to get away. Complete submissiveness.

"T-en-th," he finally struggled to say, but still managed to make the couple look at him. From then on, a chain reaction was created,

Xanxus smirked, Tsuna blushed and Gokudera fled.

* * *

_Until tomorrow,  
__soon.  
__A boy rushing to get to you,  
__he embraces you._

* * *

He he, I was actually finishing the remaining paragraphs of the chapter when I saw the last review. And now I can say, yes, I have been planning on doing that :] they wouldn't really get to meet the rest, simply because if you think about it, Yamamoto only has Gokudera in the past (Hibari doesn't count...) and the latter would only want to spend most of his time with either Yamamoto or Tsuna. Perhaps he would avoid him though, who knows?

I think... I think it might have been the longest one yet x_x. There always seemed to be something more to add, and seeing as I am a really persuasive person, I didn't allow myself to give any part up... Like, that sea part, there is a song that has the line 'When people are sad they go to the sea, that's why the ocean is so salty', I heard it some time ago and it got stuck in my head =\

Thanks for the reviews, you always seem to be able to make me feel warm and confident and that gives me so much inspiration :D

Next chapter: Hayato is back in the past ;p

Bye bye.


	17. As You Conquered Everything With Me

Having guests over for the holiday... I still can't decide whether it is worth all the cleaning and housework or not =\

**Blanco: Chapter 16 - As You Conquered Everything With Me**

* * *

_I'm lucky to have you.  
__I'm fascinated by what you hide,  
__I love what you reveal._

_I'm a slave to your wisdom  
__while there is nothing sane about you.  
__So lucky..._

* * *

The second day had been as eventful as it could get for the end of another life-changing experience. Both Yamamoto and Gokudera, though still separated by the walls of time, had spent the day in almost the same fashion.

Basically, the entire day was meant to be a day of taking the time to close all the unfinished business with everyone they wouldn't see anymore, not in that age and time to be exact. For the storm guardian it had been the older Shamal, Fuuta and, surprisingly, his sister Bianchi. The first was a partially successful attempt in finding out new medical advancements that took place during those ten years, the second was a simple conversation about changes that took place in the mafia and the third, well, he was still denying the contents of the third one.

He hadn't gotten to see Tsuna at all though. It might be either because Tsuna was avoiding him or he was subconsciously avoiding the small boy. It didn't really matter, because it still had the same effect of the two young boys not meeting each other. He honestly couldn't determine if it was for the better or for the worse yet. On the one hand, he wanted to be by his boss' side to take care of him, fulfill his requests and follow his orders. On the other hand, he just didn't know what to do with the new knowledge he had unintentionally gained.

Yamamoto, on the other hand, spent most of his time at Tsuna's house with Gokudera, the latter pleaded to go visit there and ask Nana whether she needed any help. He mentioned something about this making him feel close to Tsuna again, even though he isn't with them anymore.

That was the moment that told Yamamoto, more than anything, that that Gokudera was not the one from his time, that from that moment on, there would be no way to mistake one for the other. This Gokudera came from a time that was more than just unusual and unnatural to him, he had seen sights that none of the past teens had seen, he held knowledge about so many subjects that would take all of them years to learn and his eyes. His eyes were the one constant remainder. The jaded eyes that couldn't possibly fit into the relatively innocent face of his lover at the current time.

Still, both boys settled down and appreciated the time they got to spend with their future lovers. When nighttime came again each of the guardians, storm and rain, future and present, were lying comfortably, wrapped tightly in each other's arms in an unbreakable embrace.

A day, a night and half a day later, Gokudera was back in his time.

* * *

_I'm lucky to have you.  
__You always play, always true to yourself,  
__delicately caressing the strings of your love.  
__So lucky..._

* * *

He had to admit, he was a bit scared. At first, the storm guardian had thought something had gone completely wrong with the act of sending him back. It was the only factor he could find that would explain why when he first opened his eyes, he could see nothing. It was so quiet, like there was nothing, and the only thing he could see was darkness. Why?

But then, in the midst of his confusion and doubts, he felt something that immediately calmed him down. He felt warmth. As Gokudera focused better on his surroundings, the first thing he noticed had been the warm arms that held him tightly. He was in a bed, a comfortable one too, and the lights were off. It didn't take the Italian long to realize that that had been the reason why he couldn't see anything. The one question he had though, had been why was in bed so early, it was dinner time, not nearly as late as he would normally be asleep.

As for his partner on the bed, while the storm guardian had been getting ready to leave the future and return to his rightful time, the rain guardian's day had already been finished. It might have only been early in the evening, but after a long day of walking and being at places, it was reasonable that Yamamoto and the future Gokudera had chosen to go to sleep early. He didn't have any problems as he fell asleep in the older man's arms and allowed him to calm him down like he always did. It hadn't really been the same as he was used to from the young one, but it was close enough he could get himself to trust and relax completely between the two arms. After all, Gokudera of the present and Gokudera of the future were both one and the same, they had been the exact same person in the past. It was just that the older one had lived through more years of experience and knowledge gaining that really made the difference.

And when the Italian arrived to the right time, it didn't take him long to realize he had also arrived to the right place. He couldn't have, after all, forgotten the feeling he always felt when Yamamoto was in his arms. That same protective feeling that couldn't be associated in his mind with many other things. He had no doubt that the person currently wrapped in his arms was his lover.

The green eyes guardian unconsciously relaxed at the instant realization. Everything was fine. He hadn't been lost somewhere unknown in time and hadn't been sent to the wrong place by mistake.

Yamamoto had probably felt that something was different. Maybe the position, the arms around him, the other's breathing, the change in body temperature or just felt something that alerted him of the difference, and woke up. He woke up but didn't get up, he only looked up at the young Gokudera's face which he immediately recognized and sighed as waves of relief washed over him.

"You're back" he whispered softly, his words tickling the silver haired guardian's neck with warm air.

The first thing the young storm guardian had done once his surprise that the other boy was awake disappeared was to lower his head, as uncomfortable as that was in that particular position, attach his lips to the other's and kiss him for all the times he couldn't have done that while he was at the future and just waited eagerly to go back to the past. It had been an unspoken agreement between the guardians of the future and the past that while they could share the same bed at night and embrace as tightly as ever, none of them would go any further than that. No kisses and no sensual caresses. Only comfort.

"I'm back." he confirmed, leaning back comfortably to see what he could of the shiny, black hair of his lover. It felt so good to feel the soft breathing caressing his skin once again. "Go to sleep, you seem tired." he continued and felt Yamamoto's head moving slightly up to get a better look at the storm guardian and connect their eyes together under only the sole light of the moonlight.

"You'll stay?" the rain guardian asked quietly, silently hoping for a most positive 'Yes'. He wouldn't have called it desperate, but it came close and Gokudera could only look at the dark orbs and get the feeling that this request held more meaning to it than it was supposed to hold. He answered nonetheless,

"Of course." a confirmation that led the rain guardian to release an unconsciously held breath of relief.

"How were things in the future?" asked sleepily. He became a bit more aware and alarmed though, at the almost unnoticeable flinch he received at his question. "Hayato?" the swordsman asked with concern plain in both his eyes and voice.

'It is a good thing,' Gokudera thought at that exact moment, 'that he can't see my face very clearly right now.' he was blushing furiously at the memories the question triggered.

"E-Everything was fine..." he said, but somehow had managed to make his answer sound so unsure that he could already feel the doubt coming from the other boy.

"Except for...?" Yamamoto asked, now he was especially curious at the strange reaction his question had created. Gokudera could guess by the tone of the question he wouldn't be able to simply drop the subject and get away without explaining at least _something _to ease the rain guardian's curiosity.

"It's just that... I believe I have learned and seen some things about the Tenth that I shouldn't have." he gulped awkwardly and hurried to finish his explanation before he got anymore questions about the dreaded subject. He really didn't want to remember those scary, and one might even say traumatic, moments. "It's nothing much, really. Just witnessed a situation as base that made me..." he trailed as he caught the third yawn in approximately two minutes coming from the taller boy. He sighed.

"Just go to sleep, I promise I'll still be here when you wake up. We'll talk more in the morning."

And almost as if those reassuring words were pulling Yamamoto to sleep, without any word of objection, his eyes closed as he reveled in his lover's warmth and fell asleep with a contented sigh. It felt so peaceful.

Gokudera placed a small kiss on top of the dark hair and whispered, "Goodnight."

Had there been a reply to his words, he hadn't heard it, for he was already blissfully asleep.

* * *

_I'm lucky to have you.  
__You understand me and you show me who I am.  
__Enthusiastic like a child, I let you coddle me._

_And then I stay._

* * *

"...I could light my dynamite now! You remember how at base they told me I couldn't because it could risk a collapse? Well now I can, though not here of course... "

It was almost noon and Yamamoto and Gokudera were sitting comfortably on the bed in the tall boy's room. They had breakfast when they got up that morning and, as the storm guardian wasn't in a hurry to go back to his apartment, or anywhere else for that matter, just yet, went back upstairs. For the last two hours or so, the two boys had been talking about random things that came along once the conversation had begun.

Yamamoto listened to the enthusiastic, exuberant ramblings. Those included suggestions, plans and thoughts that might have, at some point, bordered on illegal activities, but as he conveniently found out, he just didn't care. With a small, content and relieved smile gracing his lips, a smile that gave him a genuine soft look that was only enhanced by the fondness that could be seen in his eyes, he mused. Nothing had changed. Well, nothing in the aspect of their relationship. It did seem like Gokudera was much more relaxed now that he was not locked. At any base. Clearly, he, as well, had found the comfort of finally breathing fresh air. It was just that now, that he had Gokudera once again by his side, he could actually enjoy it as something other than a natural necessity.

For the first time since he had been sent back he felt like he was truly home and nothing was missing. He had everything he needed.

The tall teen had just then realized how much he loved his partner, how important he was to him, just how far he managed to fall. And he was content with it. The rain guardian's eyes were focused on his lover as he watched those sinful lips that could make him go crazy as they connect with his skin. He watched the green eyes that never left him alone. He watched the pale hands move continuously with every explanation the other one had and remembered how only a single touch from these fingers, a single brush, could make him feel like he was burning with immense heat of pleasure.

And the hair. Oh, he loved the hair. He could not even begin to describe how he loved passing his fingers through that soft, silver hair. The hair that even during captivity, even with much less than ideal showers and none at all, still shone beautifully. Still kept feeling soft despite the dried blood and unavoidable dirt that stuck to every part and every strand of it. The hair that tickled him during every kiss, every time the head lowered and every time he felt those lips on his skin--

And before he could stop himself, Yamamoto's body had already closed what distance there was between himself and his lover. That way they were facing each other as an almost nonexistent space separated them and prevented their bodies from touching.. Without waiting for any kind of reaction, the rain guardian's instincts took over and he quickly crashed his lips to the other's desirable one's

Gokudera, who was still surprised by the sudden action that stopped his talking, could only go through with the pleasurable kiss in a daze. He might not have known yet what brought this on, but it didn't really matter. What did matter though, were the sensual movements of the tongue that had somehow made it's way into his accepting mouth. His pale hands had been automatically lifted to grasp his lover's neck gently between his palms as he allowed himself to be lost in Yamamoto's own arms that were at the moment wrapped around his waist in a firm hold.

It had been only a few minutes later, when he had finally managed to gain control over his body's urges, that the rain guardian reluctantly lessened the tight grip his hands had on the other's sides as he broke the heated kiss. He lowered his eyes slightly so he could look at the storm guardian, who was breathing heavily, and saw the glazed look in his eyes, like he was not really seeing anything. As the look faded and the breaths evened slowly, Yamamoto could begin to see confusion growing in the green eyes.

"What," Gokudera began and let out a shaky breath, trying to regain his voice. "What the hell was that for?" he was not complaining though, that much was obvious through the tone he used. It was just so sudden that he had to ask so he would know exactly what to do in the future and make it happen again.

The swordsman took in the hopeful and expectant blush that began covering the silver haired guardian's face as he waited for his answer and couldn't help the smile that appeared on his. Did the pale boy even know what kind of emotions he made his boyfriend feel?

"What?" Gokudera asked innocently after he saw the smile but still didn't get the answer. His red cheeks puffed slightly and his eyes narrowed at the possibility the dark haired boy had found something about him funny.

That had been the last straw for Yamamoto. He couldn't stop the laughter that came straight from is lungs at the funny expressions he kept getting from the other one. He put one hand on a stiff shoulder to steady himself as he tried to make himself stop with no success. He just felt so relieved all of a sudden, and it felt too good to stop.

Gokudera's features softened, as he looked at the uncontrollably laughing teen and just enjoyed the moment. Should he be offended? No. that's the definite answer every part of him supplied at the recently uncommon sight. It felt great to hear that rare laughter, he had almost began to forget just how contagious that smile could be.

"That's my Takeshi." the relief filled words came out of his mouth even without his awareness. When he did realize what he had said, he blushed and prayed the rain guardian did not hear that or, if he did which was more likely because of their closeness, that he would at least just leave it as it was.

But Yamamoto, who did notice, smiled at what he heard. "I take it the older me has affected you more than you thought he did?" he commented, amusement clear in his voice. He remembered it too, the future Gokudera was always saying 'My Takeshi did this, my Takeshi went there...'. The possessive tone always made him smile when he heard it. And this one was no different. A little more satisfying actually, maybe because it was meant personally for him, not just for someone he would be in ten years.

Gokudera then smiled back with as much amusement the other had in his smile and used the opportunity to begin telling him about how he had spent the past three days, asking him every now and then about what he did at that particular time or who he met during those particular moments. It felt nice, sitting there, on a comfortable bed, just like they had done in the future, relaxing and sharing their time. In fact it was more than just sharing their time, they were also sharing their memories, thoughts and feelings.

Yamamoto was listening attentively once again when all of a sudden the storm guardian said a particular sentence that caught his attention in such a way that he had to stop the other boy from continuing,

"Reborn was right though, many things have changed, for the both of us." that had been the first part that caught the rain guardian's attention specifically. "I would never have imagined myself trying to find another way to light dynamite other than a cigarette." both boys shared a grin at that, but as the silver haired teen continued, his next, meaningful words had managed to go deep into the other's heart,

"And I think it would have taken you a much longer amount of time to open up to somebody like you did with me." a soft smile formed on the Italian's lips. His words were sincere and that's what made everything more than just convincing, it was warm and honest. "And I would never have thought that I would be able to love someone as much as I love you."

Yamamoto blushed and lowered his gaze shyly at the genuine words. Gokudera was sure he could clearly hear the other's soft mumble, '...and I feel the same about you.'

"You know, I missed you, even with the older you always by my side, with me." the storm guardian admitted. The Japanese teen looked up to see his boyfriend's embarrassed expression with wide eyes,

"Same with me, he was like you, but at the same time he was just too different." he smiled brightly as he said that, and Gokudera could feel himself falling in love all over again.

* * *

Some quickly passed hours later, the two Vongola lovers could be found at the storm guardian's apartment. It seemed like even the return to the normal time hadn't done the impossible of separating the two of them and therefore, they kept close to each other just like they had done in the future.

Yamamoto noted how different it felt to be here with his Gokudera, the one from his time, his present. Even though it was still the same place, with the same furniture and the same decorations, at the same time it was just so different than being there with the older Gokudera. This time, he felt like he had a place in this house, more like a resident that a regular guest. The way the storm guardian had done everything to make him feel home might have had a connection to that though.

They had both been sitting on the soft couch in the living room, drinking tea, when the rain guardian's eye landed once again on the only item that didn't seem to fit in the rather small room. The piano. It seemed to be an old one, or at least one that hadn't been as new as the rest of the apartment's objects. It was just drawing attention to itself naturally as it stood by the opposing wall.

"It used to be my mother's." a voice to his left said with a quiet tone. He looked at Gokudera and was surprised to see him placing the cup of tea he held on the small table that stood in front of the couch. The green eyed boy got up and slowly made his way across the room to finally settle down on the brown leather stool by the piano. "

"Is there anything in particular you want?" Gokudera turned slightly to face the other boy and asked with a challenging smirk on his face as his fingers were positioned on the piano's keys.

The baffled expression the taller boy had at the confident display expressed most of what was going on through his mind. And the only thing he managed to say in the end, was, "No-Nothing really, j-just pick something you like."

The Italian chuckled with amusement at the words and turned to face his piano. He began playing immediately after. The silver haired boy had an aristocratic aura around him as he played those black and white keys. The melody itself was a calm, yet strong one. At one moment it would drop to an almost silent, delicate tone, like the sea and the wind, and at the next moment it would thunder like stormy sky at rainy days. It was safe to say the swordsman had been completely captivated by every note.

And without he knew it, it was over. Silence reigned the room until finally, Gokudera released a sight at the end of his performance, turned around with a soft, relaxed smile, and asked,

"Is there anything you thought of by now that you want?"

Even though he knew the silver haired boy was obviously referring to the piano, Yamamoto answered "Well, we can go to bed, I do feel a bit tired." he just couldn't think of anything else to say. He knew he was acting strange, but there were no words he could think of that could describe what he felt when he heard the music flowing between the four walls, aimed directly at him. He just hoped his expression was enough to show the appreciation he so strongly felt during those moments he could practically feel the other's soul touching him. "What do you think?"

The storm guardian thought for the short time of less than a minute, and said. "Sure, the bedroom is this way, follow me." he got up from the leather stool and began walking towards the door on the other side of the room and as he opened it he looked back at the rain guardian who was following him.

"The bed might not be as large as yours, but I think we could man-" he cut himself off after he turned his head to face the room and his eyes caught sight of the bed "-age?" he finished with a confused expression. Yamamoto thought it was very cute, he snickered lightly at that but no comment left his mouth as he looked past the shocked boy to see what was wrong with the bed.

"What the hell?" the Italian ran to the soft object. It was nowhere near what his bed was supposed to be. In fact, he mused, it was almost identical to the bed that was in the other boy's house, mostly by the way it dominated the room, and the only apparent difference was the satin sheets that covered it. While Yamamoto's were completely black, these ones were an amazing shade of turquoise that seemed to demand attention. He didn't have a problem with the bed, it just made the entire situation of being back in the right time even more real.

It was only natural, he thought rationally after a few seconds of being frozen, that the future guardian's would like to have a bed as large as the one in Yamamoto's room, in the apartment as well.

"So the bed in your room...?" he asked, as if to make sure his theory was correct.

"…is thanks to our future selves, yes." the taller one completed quietly with an affirming nod.

Soon enough, the two partners were embracing under the warm blanket on the new bed. It really wasn't hard to accept the new item when it was so soft and comfortable. They took their time to get into a position that suited them both, though they naturally found it as they always did. It was strange, the chemistry that was evident between the young guardians, but it was gladly accepted as each kept the other in his arms and engaged in whispered, slow conversations about nothing in particular.

Yamamoto couldn't help but notice how beautifully his boyfriend's silver hair matched at the bright covers. Sprayed, scattered, messed all over the other part of the soft pillow they shared. Almost like the way it matched to his gorgeous green eyes. Almost. He looked at the relaxed expression on the pale face and whispered,

"Oh, and Hayato?"

"Hmn?" he was exhausted, halfway asleep by that time.

"I love you." Gokudera opened his eyes lazily, yet intently, and looked into the rain guardian's dark eyes. And with a tired voice, just as his eyes threatened to close again, he whispered back,

"I love you too."

* * *

_At the end of every night I'm there,  
__you allow me to learn the secrets of your modesty.  
__You had mercy on me like a mother for her child,  
__as you conquered everything with me._

* * *

An addictive song, really... this was originally written not for someone, but for the 'music' itself. Still, I think it could be used to express almost anything that someone holds important to him, especially if it is another person. Hope you liked it as much as I do.

Next Chapter: Hayato and Takeshi finally talk about their relationship. The boys have some free time before they have to go back to school, life is back to normal. Takeshi being happy, Hayato being cute, Reborn being scary.

If there are any requests or suggestions for something any of you wish to see that hadn't already been written, then this is the time. Regular situations that wouldn't affect the plot. Just ask for what you want and as long as it doesn't collide with what I already have planned, I can write it. I thought it might be nice, but don't worry, even if there are no requests I would just use my own ideas like I have done until now. There will be a chapter no matter what. You have only two days for requests though, since I won't be able to write because of personal reasons. Anything you ask is not going to affect the time it takes me to finish the chapter. :D

Until then, bye bye. :]


	18. To Earn Love

Ironic how the longest chapter by far was the easiest to write... Reborn being scary means regular news... hehe, he is always strange to the point he is scary :p

With what I already had planned and three of the requests, the day was already over... So as for the two remaining requests that hadn't been included, those will appear in the next chapter. The two Yamamotos' interaction with Hayato is already planned and drama will be in another part (though not in the way it had been requested. Sorry, but there was no way I could think of to make it work with the direction the plot should be heading to...). Rest assured, drama will be there regardless of anything else that happens.

Enjoy.

**Blanco: Chapter 17 – To Earn Love**

* * *

_When the sunlight disappears from the sky  
__and my heart drips through my brown eyes._

_Then I remember, that there are hands  
__that want to keep me close.  
__I know how it feels to earn love._

* * *

When the two Vongola guardians woke up in the morning, both grateful that the night had passed, surprisingly, without any occurrences. For once, the forgotten hours have passed without either of them waking up for one reason or another. It was peaceful.

Both Gokudera and Yamamoto did not hurry to get out of bed once the two were already fully awake, but instead took their time to carry on with the calm feelings they had after the uneventful night. They were currently lying on the bed comfortably, covered by the warm, soft turquoise blanket. The tall boy's head was leisurely on Gokudera's shoulder while the pianist's fingers were caressing his black hair. None of them seemed to want to move from their position. Both were actually pretty satisfied with it and contently allowed it to continue.

They talked about random stuff, things that anyone could talk about at any time or place, yet still managed to enjoy the conversation. Throughout almost all of the conversation, the storm guardian had been the one talking while the other took to listening and commenting with not so many words whenever he got a questioning look that checked whether he had been really listening or not. The Italian didn't think much about it though, why should he? It was perfectly normal for a person to not wake up with too much energy after all. So he just kept talking as he waited for Yamamoto to become more focused.

That had been the main reason Gokudera was had become so surprised to hear the first sentence that came out of the swordsman's mouth. A question and then a sentence actually.

"Don't you think it's a bit weird?"

"Weird? What?" really, what could be weird?

"You know, this...relationship." Yamamoto looked hesitant as the words came out of his mouth. His hesitance seemed to have been justified by the resulting sharp intake of breath he could both feel and see from under his head and in front of his eyes. The hand in his hair had already stopped moving during the other boy's confusion due to his first question.

The implication of the rain guardian's words and possible meaning came out of the blue as it hit Gokudera fiercely, so sudden that his blood ran cold with the ideas that formed in and roamed his head of how he could possibly answer such a question. Nevertheless, it had to be done in the most thoughtful way so nothing would be messed up. He had so many thoughts and questions in his head, but when he opened his mouth to randomly ask one of them so he could get better knowledge and continue from there, none came. Instead, came only the words he did not want to form into a question just yet or, most probably, ever in his life should he have a choice.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Gokudera asked, looking alarmed. Yamamoto looked up with an incredulous expression. Really what was he supposed to think?

"No." the Japanese hurried to say as an apparent correction before the other could misunderstand any more. "No! Of course not! It's just that..." his eyes lowered as he kept talking, "I never actually thought about stuff like this and suddenly I find out that I'm gay and... its just so confusing." Yamamoto said desperately. He was trying to make Gokudera understand that this conversation was just to ease his own personal worries. Calm his confusion. Nothing more.

"I don't see it that way." Gokudera stated. Now that he had partially gotten some idea of what was going through the other's mind he could relate. After all, he had to deal these questions before, when he found out he had feelings for his tall lover.

"I don't think you just suddenly turned gay. And I don't think you... have to be gay to love like this." he looked down sincerely and caught the dark eyes in his emerald gaze. The insecurity that was evident in the endless stare made Gokudera's heart clench painfully as he remembered the time he had spent in his own mind, contemplating and constantly questioning himself.

"I look at you and in my eyes, to me, you are more than just attractive, you are amazing and clever. You make me feel good with myself and for the first time in many years, it was _you_ who made me feel like I have someone I could speak to about everything. For lack of a better word, you keep me sane." the storm guardian hadn't looked away as he said the rest of his words. A small smile tugged at the edge of his lips and threatened to make his face appear happy for once. "All I get whenever I look at you, is the overwhelming and incredible feeling that all I could ever feel for you is love." he finished.

Yamamoto had been speechless for a few minutes as his mind processed the words he had heard. It seemed like it wasn't over yet, he noted, as the silver haired boy opened his mouth once more to share his thoughts and feelings.

"But you know what, now that I think about that," Gokudera's eyebrows furrowed with sudden realization, "I don't think I ever liked girls anyway."

At that confession, Yamamoto did have some words to speak, "Me neither." he admitted. "I don't think I ever liked anyone in this way at all actually." his features displayed complete concentration as he recalled his past feelings about people. "It's just that I would always put the facade on and everyone would like that, no one would really _see_ me because I wouldn't let them. So I guess it would have been kind of hard to start a relationship with a fake me." Yamamoto said reasonably.

"Well, I said I never liked girls, too, so I guess here's your answer." the storm guardian said with a sympathetic smile on his face. "But for me, I think there's more of a reason to hate than anything else that might be the cause. It's just that after mom died the only girl that could leave an impression on me was my sister. And almost everyone knows what kind of impression she had left..."

'Yeah, well. The kind of impression that would make you sick every time you see her.' Yamamoto's short extension of the closing sentence was not voiced, though. He had gotten his answers and, just as he expected, he felt a lot better with himself. Now he was a bit more convinced that he was not taking advantage of his lover by telling him he loves him while there was still the faint possibility of his words being a mistake.

They kept contently lying in silence for a few minutes until Yamamoto sat up. He smiled at the questioning look he got from Gokudera whose hand was now hanging simply in the air since it had nowhere to rest. The confusion increased even more as the rain guardian got up from the bed without saying a word and he began worrying that something in the more than recent conversation the two had had something to do with that. He waited silently for an explanation and didn't even have to wait too long for that.

"Dad accepted us, you know?" Yamamoto informed the other boy as he put on his right sock while he looked for the second. He didn't really explain why it had been so important to him to his still confused lover though. "At first I thought our future selves were simply very persuasive so they had somehow managed to get him to accept the relationship. But then I had another thought. I guess that maybe he could understand the importance of being with the one you love, no matter what. I was sitting in front of him when I realized that the man who was talking so freely about such an unusual relationship was the same person who has lost his wife. The same person who couldn't say 'Goodbye' or 'I love you' properly because he couldn't accept some aspects of his own relationship."

"Where... are you going?" Gokudera asked, his gaze following the rain guardian's every move. True, what the tall boy had just said was important enough that he really should think about something he could say to it. But as he saw the black haired swordsman getting ready to leave, he just didn't seem to be capable of concentrating.

Yamamoto chuckled as he looked back just when he finished with the other sock. The storm guardian was probably still half asleep to make such expressions. Ones that could be referred to as needy, immature or even spoiled.

"I'm going to make breakfast." he began explaining as he made his way back to the bed and leaned down a bit so he could press a light kiss to his boyfriend's pale cheek. "Yesterday, it had been dad who made it and there was already enough for the two of us because he knew you would be staying at our house. Just stay in bed, I'll call you when it's ready."

And with those words, Yamamoto left the silver haired boy alone in his room, looking torn between two different forms of selfishness. The first was 'Being selfish about wanting Yamamoto to stay' while the second was 'Being selfish about wanting Yamamoto to cook for him.'

Both kinds were positive ones though, and for that the oblivious rain guardian had to be thankful.

* * *

Yamamoto knew he volunteered to make breakfast and normally he wouldn't be worried at all, since he was pretty proud and sure in his cooking skill. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something might go wrong and breakfast would pay the price. Then he stopped thinking, sighed, told himself to stop worrying about meaningless things and begin working. It was just a new situation and being anxious wouldn't help with anything at all.

He opened the fridge and silently hoped that it wouldn't be anything like in some of the movies he remembered watching. Those movies where there is a person who lives alone and he doesn't have anything edible in his entire kitchen, all his food is take outs and vegetables are just a far away fantasy. It seemed like his hopes were answered. As his eyes scanned up and down, he saw a full fridge with the many different kind of foods that any person needed. A quick check in the cabinets led him to nod in satisfaction at the stock they held.

Yes, he could work with that.

It was fair to remind that he was a restaurant owner's son, after all. So there was no way he wouldn't have learned how to cook by then. Actually, it had been through all those years he had to practically take care of himself that he really learned what to eat and how to make it.

He cut and he cooked and he boiled and thankfully he didn't burn anything, not that that had been a regular occurrence for him to do burn it. He _was_ pretty skilled many after years of much needed hard work.

It was nice, he decided, to cook for Gokudera. To cook for someone you love, he added in his thoughts. That single thought brought a shy smile to his face. Love, it felt so strange and warm and nice. Practically indescribable.

It was amazing.

* * *

While the rain guardian was moving things in the other room, Gokudera could hear the sounds from his own room. He was surprised in a good way to find out that, as possessive as he had always been about his things, he didn't care what Yamamoto was doing with his kitchen. He trusted the other boy completely.

So that hadn't been his reason to get out of the bed to at least get dressed with normal clothes so he could go see the swordsman in action. He made the short way from the bed to the closet, he ignored an harmless attack by a flying jacket that fell from somewhere above him as he opened the closets door, he looked down at a certain shelf he always puts the clothes he wears the most and then--

--he froze.

On top of his favorite set of clothes, folded and clean, was a piece of paper. A regular sized one that didn't seem like it had been taken from somewhere. As he picked it up and looked at it, he didn't need a really close inspection to realize who had written and left that letter. The most evident clue had been the language the letter was written in. No, it hadn't been Japanese, it hadn't been Italian too. It hadn't even been English. What it had been was his own language.

The language that he could still read fluently through months of keeping it close to him in case he needed it. The 'G-Script' as he called it, had been created by him. That's what he was so sure of who had written the letter. Really, who other than himself? He doubted that anyone else other than himself could have not only written in his own language, but also been able to put it in his closet.

Now that there was no mistaking who had left the letter, he scanned the letter without much difficulties.

The letter was not formal, for that much he was grateful. It had already been weird enough to read a letter he wrote to himself, it shouldn't become even weirder by adding formalities and sentences that are less than straightforward.

With that reasoning thought in his mind, he began reading.

"_Gokudera Hayato,_

_I hope the time you spent in my time didn't leave you haunted by too many awful memories and sights, but I'm afraid I might be wrong. Even with the future's resources for the newest research about time and space, dimensions traveling has an unpredictable concept. None of us, not even the most advanced researchers and high ranked Mafiosos, know how it really works. Therefore, I can't tell you that you'll have the same life and experiences as me. I can tell you though, that if you are anything like I used to be, you will make the same choices that I did. And that, more than anything, will make you understand the meaning of this letter._

_I know it might sound like a cliché, but as long as you believe in yourself, you will be just fine. I'm not saying it won't be difficult, but I am saying that you are more than capable to make it through. I don't think I have to tell you this but, just in case, always stay loyal to the Family. Betrayal is not an option. It needs you just as much as you need it and it will need you even more in the future. Keep in mind that priorities is just a plain word that can't properly describe and even determine what you really want and need and what is best for you and everyone around you. There is no need to choose what takes the top priority, as long as you know how to balance the importance by yourself. Take that as an advice. _

_The Tenth is going to need you. Stay by his side, show him that you are there and try to not pressure him with too many expectations. He is already going to have a lot to deal with even without his right hand man adding to it. Also, I hate to say it, but if the same events are going to take place in your time as they happened in mine, you might want to consider learning how to take care of the family for more than just temporary times._

_Take care of our lovely siren, he deserves all the love in the world. You know that, right? If there is anything I know for sure that you and I share, it is the love we have for our beautiful lover. It is a true one, I'm sure you can feel it even now, when you are reading this letter. You can be possessive and protective as much as you want, it doesn't hurt and he actually seems to like that. But try to remember that he has a mind of his own, and he also has his own duties, you can't afford to forget those. Don't drive him away, even if you think that's necessary, don't do that. Let him make his own decisions and stay out of his way when he does. I'm telling you this from experience. He knows what's best for him._

_I really do hope you would not have to deal with the same hardships that I had and still going to have to deal with when I return to my time, but I honestly don't know. Time will tell, I guess. Keep your soul intact,_

_Decimo's Hellhound._

_P.S  
__Yes, that's what they call us now. Better get used to it."_

Straightforward indeed. As the storm guardian read the letter, he had many different reactions. At the first paragraph, his face was overshadowed by a serious frown. His eyes examined the words with unwavering concentration. Then, at the second paragraph, his frown deepened, with a not so subtle hint of anger. He kept reading though, and when he finally finished reading the third paragraph he was grimacing at the thought of what could happen to his Tenth that would make him, the right hand, responsible for the Family's duties. It had been the fourth paragraph at last, that made him have mixed feelings. Ones of understanding, pride and empathy, which were accompanied by ones such as confusion, apprehension and worry.

He stood in silence for a few moments after he finished the last part of the letter and began walking absently in the direction of the bed. He sat down, his eyes still on the fragile paper as he tried to sort his thoughts over the matter.

If looked at by another person, leaving out the fact that he was the only person who could read it, the letter was nothing more than an explanation about some things and a few advices for what's ahead. It wasn't how Gokudera had seen it. He had seen it, he looked at the explanations and saw nothing but an attempt, successful as it had been yet still an attempt, to prove the credibility of the letter. He had read the advices and saw only threats and warnings. The only parts that seemed to be untouched, without anything hidden, had been the parts about his feelings.

As he saw it everything was plain, obvious, hard facts. The part about the Tenth not being there had been a warning. The part about betrayal had been a threat. The part about Takeshi had been a warning. And those had been only some of the facts. There had been no room left for questions and no options to do it anyway. He could only choose whether to accept them or not.

As soon as he got himself back together, he got up. There was no need to dwell over matters that wouldn't affect him for months, even years, from then. He went to his closet the second time, picked up the first thing that seemed suitable enough and got dressed. Then, he took a deep breath to completely take his mind off the matter and left the room.

As soon as he passed through the door he saw his tall lover standing by the sink, arranging ingredients as he hummed lightly and moved accordingly. He was being the attractive rain guardian that he was even without knowing it. It was amazing how just looking at his lover made Gokudera's morning seem a lot brighter than it looked just mere minutes ago.

Smiling slyly to himself, he slowly stalked to the other's location with absolute silence in a matter of only a few seconds. He was satisfied to hear the surprised yelp the other let out as a familiar set of pale arms settled around his hips. A head was pressing between the rain guardian's shoulder blades and he could have melted right then and there from the warmth he could feel in his body, inside his veins.

His right arm left the vegetables alone for a second as it grasped one of the hands that surrounded him. He brought it up, gently, to his lips and pressed one, loving kiss to it. Extremely content at the shiver he felt coming from the presence behind him, he nuzzled the hand with a happy smile on his face. How he loved those quiet moments. It had always been those moments especially that he could really concentrate on all of his feelings and sensations. The moments that needed no words, just as there would be no words to describe them. It was like they always said, 'A picture is worth a thousand words.' and those moments were more than just pictures. They were memories.

Turning around carefully in the embrace to lean down and kiss his boyfriend softly, Yamamoto felt more grateful for what he had in his arms than he ever had.

"Breakfast is almost ready, just a few more minutes." he said after a minute of savoring the moment. Reluctantly letting go and backing from the embrace, Yamamoto turned back to the food at the understanding nod Gokudera gave him.

The silver haired boy decided to at least finish some tasks that he could do by himself. He went to the door and opened it to get the newspaper and the delivered milk inside. He put the milk in the refrigerator and then set the newspaper on an empty place on the counter.

Normally, he would eat outside, but it seemed like his former self had gotten used to doing it in a different way. He had been surprised to see that he had food in his kitchen, but not so much that he had to ask why.

He looked around for anything else he might be able to help with but saw that everything was in place and Yamamoto didn't look like he needed any help as he handled the kitchen area. With nothing else to do, he picked the newspaper once again and kept it with him as he sat down on the couch and looked for anything interesting. It was obvious though, that the storm guardian was only half concentrated on the paper in his hand as he thought about the meaning of the paper that was ingrained in his head.

And while his mind was divided by both distractions, his eyes, as if they had no relation to said mind, kept straying towards the tall figure of his lover.

* * *

Since going to Tsuna was out of the question, he was, after all, still in the future, the two decided they would be going out for a walk. It seemed like being constantly locked for months at a time did wonders about their factors to go out. Gokudera would have usually chosen stay at home and read a book on his couch rather than waste his time outside under the sun pointlessly. Yamamoto was just the same other than his passion for baseball. In that case though, he still had an aim when he went outside. Now they were just wandering around.

It's been so nice and both unconsciously remembered the time they had done just the same in the future. Walking around, feeling their burdens fading and their worries being taken away by the soft breeze that pushes them to keep walking. But, just as nature took their problems into itself, civilization seemed to worm into their mind and plant some new worries that obviously hadn't been there before.

Simply put, the two felt kind of out of it. Well, Gokudera had finally noticed that he was more than just out of it. He was completely disconnected. He didn't know what day it was and he didn't know whether or not there was anything special about that day. He was so used to always being focused, always knowing everything, that he suddenly felt a little unsure in himself when he realized how little he knew of the new situation. What terrified him the most though, was that he didn't even care. And really, he couldn't bring himself to care when Yamamoto was walking quietly by his side as he was a reminder of one of the two things he needed to worry about. People, actually. Tsuna, his boss, and Takeshi, his lover. Not being distracted by letters and no worries about the future or anything else like that. Nothing else mattered. With that in mind, his feet kept walking forward.

Even while both teens had the same feelings inside them, Yamamoto had a different kind of thoughts going through his head than Gokudera had. He thought about how great it is to be in such a break. How amazing it was that even after missing two months events and happenings they could still walk among other, normal people. And at that point he realized what his last thought had just meant. Were they not regular people? His mind quickly supplied the answer. No, they weren't. And it wasn't hard for him to accept, simply because he knew just as much as Gokudera knew that they had changed. In fact, even without the change, before it, they were both pretty different than normal people. After all, he had always been different than all of his classmates and never felt like he belonged anywhere. His lover was just the same from as much as he knew about him. And now it was fine.

They belonged to each other.

It hadn't been until the two passed by the baseball field that they had to stop both their thinking and their walking. Of course, it had been the rain guardian who stopped first and, after instantly noticing the difference, the storm guardian the second, right after him.

After hearing people calling for him,Yamamoto looked over the field to search who exactly it had been. In front of him was the field that stood by their school where he used to play in too. It seemed like there had just been a game going on that ended only a few minutes ago of their school's team against another one. It had been morning after all and school was still--

--wait, school? And at that moment realization dawned on them.

Just how much material did they miss with them being away from school for two whole months?

As soon as the thought came, it went away. From Gokudera's point of view, he had already been ahead of everyone else in class, so he really didn't mind. No problems there, he noted with self satisfaction. Yamamoto's simple point of view was the complete opposite, yet still managed to be just as convincing, if not alarmingly suspicious. It practically stated that he was already so far behind everyone else that it didn't really matter if he was two months behind or four months behind. In any way he would still have to catch up with the rest of the class.

Both boys had the same thought that kept everything in proportions more than it already had though. After all, what was a bit of missing lessons in light of the previous months' events? The answer was more easy to produce: Nothing at all.

The two guardians didn't have anymore time to muse about the current state of their studies since it seemed like whoever had called Yamamoto had already made his way to their side of the fence.

"What do _you_ want?" Gokudera growled even before the two people who came had even a second to stand still. He disliked the fact that people who are so unimportant were interrupting his precious time with his rain guardian.

'Ah, here he is.' Yamamoto noted fondly after he noticed the menacing tone. He smiled and effortlessly said, "Now, now, Hayato. Don't be this way, this is Natsu, from our class, remember? And the one next to him had been one of my teammates for years." it seemed like in the presence of a stranger, both boys had automatically slipped into their known characters.

"Sempai, where had you been? We missed you. There are some things I..." Gokudera tuned the conversation off as Yamamoto turned to the second boy and answered whatever his question had been. Sure, he was a bit pissed that the tall teen didn't just tell them to go away and kept talking to them instead, but as he looked at him, he could see so much difference. Difference than what his lover usually acts like around him. Even with the smiles and vivid gestures the only genuine part he could see in his boyfriend's features was the longing in those dark eyes that made his own heart miss a beat.

Yamamoto took off happily to help teaching the two tired boys' and their friends some things after Gokudera reluctantly agreed to wait for him at the stands. Once he saw the way the swordsman's eyes lit at the mention of playing he had no hope to refuse the request.

For minutes the Italian could see the group of boys surrounding Yamamoto as he talked enthusiastically and explained things to them. It seemed like they asked him to play a bit and at that point, he looked at the storm guardian. It was almost like he was asking permission to go on and play, maybe because he felt a bit bad that his lover had to sit alone during the time they planned to spend with each other. Gokudera had heard the request the rain guardian was asked from his place and had also seen the silent request to himself. There was nothing he could do as his head moved on his own as he nodded.

Really, it was like his face had been trained to react that way to that particular pleading expression. How shameful he thought half jokingly to himself. At the joyous smile the swordsman had thrown his way, he didn't really care. He just kept sitting there with a small, almost invisible, smile on his face while watching as Yamamoto began running around.

At first, Gokudera did well with controlling his own happy emotions at the amazing smile he got. He also thought he did pretty well with managing to control the urge to just grab the other boy from the field simply because he looks so sexy when he is cheerful and carefree. He might have felt the need to control his true emotions from showing at the beginning, probably because he knew he was surrounded by strangers and had to keep his act regardless of whether he really needed it or not, but then he saw Yamamoto throw the bat to the ground and begin running at full speed, he could see how active and lively he looked, how he practically glowed with happiness and couldn't help the cheer that ripped from his throat,

"Good job, Takeshi!"

And if people found even the fact that he was there strange, unusual, then just imagine the shock they received when they heard that. Some even looked up at the sky with a puzzled expression on their faces. The storm guardian's suspicions were that either were they asking god for guidance with this one or they were looking for a horde of flying pigs.

Gokudera, for his part in the scene, refused to blush.

* * *

It was already the afternoon by the time Yamamoto was finished, he looked up at the stands to see a half hearted irritated look on the silver haired boy's face and just then realized how much time had passed. Basically, a lot. The two of them decided to go sit somewhere and have something to eat because they hadn't had anything to eat since that morning and after minimal talking chose to sit in a small cafe not too far from where they currently were.

As soon as Yamamoto sat down on a chair on one side of the table, facing Gokudera, he awkwardly apologized,

"Sorry." he said sheepishly. "It's just that I was having so much fun and I didn't even notice how much time had passed and you just sat there so I thought it was fine and I--"

"--That's fine." Gokudera said as soon as he realized what the other had been apologizing for. He knew it hadn't been his fault for having too much fun. Could happen to anyone. "Don't worry, it passed fast enough and I wasn't bored at all."

And true to his words, Gokudera, just like Yamamoto, couldn't understand how fast time had passed as he watched the swordsman running around, appreciating being out in the open, free. It was just like those two months had been just a bad dream that they woke up from together on the same bed. And now, as they sat there, one facing the other, it felt like being at the top of the world. Looking over at the other boy as he said those words, Gokudera couldn't help but notice just how sweaty Yamamoto was, it didn't bother him in the least, though, he simply found that even more appealing. His boyfriend was attractive no matter what, that was a fact.

"So!" The waitress killed any continuation that particular conversation might have held. Just for that, Gokudera had labeled her as an annoyance. Even worse, the same obnoxious waitress rudely grabbed an unoccupied chair from the beside them and dragged it to the empty part of the table by both their sides, then she sat on it and continued. "What do we want to order today?"

'_We_ don't want to order anything today. Go away.' Gokudera flawlessly retorted in his mind. More like grumbled, actually. 'Is she for real?' He just didn't know the answer for his own question, but grudgingly allowed the actions to pass when Yamamoto began to order.

"I would like to see if there..."

After all, Gokudera reasoned as he closed himself to the annoyingly loud voice the smiley creature used to answer Yamamoto's questions about the menu, if her attitude was fine with the other boy then he didn't want to start meaningless arguments over nothing.

When the stupid waitress turned to him he tried to focus on the menu and not on her. But what really ticked him off was that when she got up from the chair with their orders, she sent one of her hands in a not so gentle touch and messed his silver hair. At the following moments, when his head was lowered by the force of the unwanted touch, he had to gather all of his concentration and use it to restrain himself from doing the one thing he wanted to do the most.

Don't kill the waitress.

Those had been precisely his thoughts as he had to put everything he had in him, every ounce of restraint he had, to keep his body from lashing out at her, strangling her at that moment. Of course, strangling was just the beginning of his plans. With those kind of plans though, it was crucial to hold himself back and fairly understandable that he even felt the need.

That had been when the Italian took a deep breath to calm himself down. Then he took another. During the third breath though, he couldn't suppress a sudden shiver that came over him for no actual, apparent reason. The air felt surprisingly cold. When he lifted his head back up though, he had probably found the cause.

He had never seen such a dark and intense look tainting Yamamoto's eyes before.

"T-Takeshi?" he didn't want to admit to himself that he was a bit afraid of his boyfriend at that moment, what was going on? Well, actually, 'afraid' was a bit of an exaggeration. Perhaps cautious would have been a better word.

"I don't like her." the swordsman stated in an intimidating voice that sent another shiver to run down the pale boy's spine. The change was tremendous and had Gokudera not known for sure the person who sat in front of him was Yamamoto, he would have attacked him in self defense as a reaction to the frightening aura he was surrounded by. He still had to ask though.

"Wh-Why?"

"Why?" came the growled response. Until that moment, the rain guardian had been concentrating on the waitress, his eyes following her every move. But now, the response was aimed directly at him, those dark eyes focused on him, froze him completely and pierced right through his soul to make his breath get caught in his throat.

"Yes... W-Why?" the storm guardian wanted to hit himself on the head about the fact he couldn't get more than two words out without a stutter. He would reserve that for later though.

"She touched you." the other guardian answered simply, as if it was so obvious that the question hadn't been needed at all. And suddenly, all tension seemed to have been lifted off the Italian's shoulders.

"Touched me?" he knew that, the question he was trying to ask was how did the careless action manage to draw Yamamoto's carnivore part outside. At the same time he mused to himself, it seemed like Yamamoto Takeshi had been more than fit to survive in the mafia.

"She can't touch you." the tall teen stated, now he seemed annoyed but nothing more.

"Why can't she?" Gokudera asked, his curiosity got the better of him.

"Well that's obvious." the rain guardian growled as he crossed his arms, showing a firm front in such an unusual display that seemed almost childish. The silver haired teen just wondered how could it be the other boy's actions and words seemed capable of affecting his body so much. "She can't touch you because you are mine."

Was that a whine? He might have misheard though. And man, here he thought that his own possessiveness would be bad enough to deal with. Who would have guessed Yamamoto would be just as much, if not more possessive than him? A soft sigh brought him from his musings though.

"Hayato," was what Yamamoto called quietly that followed the sigh.

"What?" he asked, just a bit wary of what might continue the sentence.

"Lean over, I will fix your hair for you." the tall guardian said as he gave him a blinding smile. Gokudera certainly didn't seem to care much about the bipolar symptoms his lover was showing, because his only reaction to the kind offer had been to lean over and wait for the rain guardian's hand to fix his messy hair.

It had taken some time, but not too long, for their orders to arrive. In the meantime, they sat comfortably and talked about where they would stay the night at. Since they had been at Gokudera's house the night before, Yamamoto suggested that it was only fair that they would stay at his house. It had been a peaceful, uneventful conversation and storm guardian had actually began to relax until his ears caught something disturbing.

It seemed like the girls in the table next to them, partially behind him, were talking about how good looking and cute they were. Gokudera obviously tossed the parts about himself to the side and couldn't choose between being jealous, irritated or annoyed. Nevertheless, he had to act.

He threw a look of disgust at the close group. Girls, his mind supplied while not particularly helping the matter much. And just before he had the chance to begin throwing insults at them at, Yamamoto's laughter reached his ears and made him put a stop to his plans. He turned around and left the three girls confused at the lack of confrontation to look at what Yamamoto was laughing about. Nothing seemed different.

"You were acting so funny." the rain guardian laughed. And he just couldn't stop.

Gokudera didn't turn around to face the girls the second time. His glare wouldn't have the same effect with a blush on his face anyway. He might have sulked for a few moments, but he wasn't really angry. Because no matter what, anytime that Yamamoto laughs marks another greatly utilized moment and anything that makes Yamamoto laugh makes another great cause.

So he sucked it up and let another annoyance to slip through his claws. He already had what he wanted the most.

* * *

_And when the wind in the afternoon  
__scatters small branches, then it's fine._

_Then I remember, that there are eyes  
__that watch me closely.  
__And I know that I earned love._

_I know how it feels to earn love._

* * *

"Today was fun." Yamamoto said absently from his position on the bed. "We should do that again sometime."

"Yeah." Gokudera agreed simply from the other side of the room where he was occupied looking for some clothes he could sleep in.

The rain guardian's father had said he didn't mind the both of them sleeping in the same room and bed as long as they kept everything quiet. Apparently, he had witnessed some embarrassing moments that made him think twice about getting closer to his son's bedroom at night. Since the two had received the acceptance though, they had made an arrangement so that half the nights would be spent in Yamamoto's bed while the other half would be in Gokudera's bed.

When they had gotten back they had been warmly accepted by the smiling father who seemed to be in a good mood, it was Gokudera's guess the reason was Yamamoto's return, and after taking a shower himself, Yamamoto offered his friend to have one too.

And currently, the storm guardian was holding a random set of clothes he had found in his boyfriend's closet as he looked at the items with a small frown. "Remind me tomorrow morning to bring some clothes from my apartment when we go there, okay?" he requested as his frown deepened when he began taking the lent robe off to change into Yamamoto's much larger clothes than his own. "Really, these are comfortable, but I get the feeling that they would just keep falling all the time."

The swordsman, who was smiling with amusement until the last part of Gokudera's complaint, began chuckling almost silently as he took in the scowl on the pale face. "But my clothes make you look even cuter." he stated between his uneven breaths.

The Italian's head immediately snapped towards the bed where Yamamoto was sitting and glared. He didn't say anything, just glared and waited for the other teen to stop making fun of him. His glare was proved useless once again though, when the rain guardian found it funny as well and fell onto his back on the bed to laugh at the cute look he got to see. Gokudera had already finished wearing the clothes he picked, his frown looked a lot more like an adorable pout than anything else, and the glare couldn't be taken seriously as the shirt he had on slid slightly from his left shoulder while a hand was needed to hold the pants from falling off his hips. Who would be scared of _that_ particular sight? Not Yamamoto, that's for sure.

That is, until the tall boy's breath had been forced to halt for a moment as the smaller boy suddenly lunged at him and landed on his chest, straddling him. Green eyes gazed at him with passionate affection from above. "Would you care to repeat that?" the whispered growl that came through the hypnotizing lips his eyes couldn't seem to want to leave made what was left of his precious air disappear. "Am I... cute?"

Yamamoto couldn't take it anymore, he moved one hand around his lover's waist while the other hand grasped the front of the loose shirt and pulled on both eagerly at the same time, lowering the body above him. He immediately crashed his lips to the other's and was so occupied with the passionate kiss that he didn't even notice the long fingers that wove through his short, black hair until those pulled gently to make him tilt his head back. The lead turned from one boy to the other and the rain guardian moaned softly as the sweet lips and warm tongue continued to devour his mouth skillfully. In response, he could only pull the silver haired boy closer to his body, holding him tighter.

It took several long minutes for the teens to break the kiss as Gokudera, panting, his face flushed and his eyes filled with suppressed lust, sat up once again, now straddling the other's waist. He looked down with a warm expression that was returned by the teen underneath him. He suddenly felt so relieved. As the storm guardian took long breaths, he felt an amazingly peaceful wave of calm washing over him. At his unusually blissful expression Yamamoto raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"I love you," he said, his voice husky, packed with emotion and meaning. He knew it wasn't like him to announce it all the time, but who cares? He himself didn't, so it was only natural that if he wanted to do something, or in that case, say something, then he would do it. "and you love me. We both know that."

At the still confused look, the storm guardian kept talking while keeping his eyes on the other's expression. "We saw our possible future, we now know that it _is_ possible." he looked into dark eyes that were now filled with understanding. "There _is_ more than just a chance for us to keep loving each other this way." he continued and then smiled gracefully. "And it makes me happy."

Then, at the same time he leaned down for another kiss, Yamamoto pulled on the shirt once again for the same reason. Their lips touched slightly, warm breath could be felt by each of the guardians and just as they savored the unique moment of complete control over their senses, they were interrupted. Like always.

A suspicious noise that just kept rising as if it was coming their way could be heard by both boys. It was an educated guess that was soon than anything proven true about the cause for the noise.

Reborn popped up from under the bed with some sort of a spinning device that was the origin for the weird noise. The machine raised the arcobaleno with circular motions until it came to a stop when he was eye level with the boys on the bed.

"Yamamoto! Gokudera! Listen carefully." the baby said in an alarmed voice that made them think something had happened. At his next words he whispered for no apparent reason. "There is something important I came here to tell you."

The two guardians chose to ignore the two swan heads that came out of each shoulder and met with a kiss above his fedora covered head.

"What the hell, Reborn?!" the storm guardian all but screamed at the hitman whose volatile nature was once again showing. His heart was beating like he had just ran a marathon because of the baby's sudden appearance in the middle of the bedroom. Did he have hideouts _everywhere_?

"You have a week and a half break from school to get used to regular times." the hitman whispered, as if it were a secret. Now, the two were confused. More than before. Is that what he came here to say? An interruption just for that? _That_?!

'He is _so_ weird.' they both concluded simultaneously in their own private yet at the same time shared thoughts as they got a full view of the expression on the costumed arcobaleno.

His smile just freaked them out. It was like he could read their minds and the feeling it left was so unsettling.

Then, a single, same thought crossed through both the guardians' minds at the reference. 'What if he can really read our thoughts?' a ridiculous sense of fear coursed through them as they looked cautiously at the smiling infant who wasn't giving anything away.

'There is only one way to find out.' both determined. It was getting to the point the two had almost shared their thoughts in the matter, until,

'Reborn, you are an idiot.' Gokudera thought.

'Reborn, you are so short.' Yamamoto thought.

Well, their half hearted insults were not the same. They both cringed visibly at the same time though, when Reborn's smile had suddenly turned into a frightening smirk. It was just creepy how that smirk looked so natural on the baby's face. And at that moment the two just knew, they would never try that again.

They would never, ever insult Reborn in their thoughts again.

* * *

_And when the sunlight appears above the sea  
__and another gray day begins, there is no reason yet._

_Then I remember, that there are lips  
__that want to have me close.  
__And I know how it feels to earn love._

* * *

This one actually came naturally, I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much. :] It was the first time I noticed how fun it is to switch their perspectives... Honestly, writing this story is so fun, I always end up learning something new about writing, because this is my first story and all, and I haven't even began talking about how it helps me with my English...

So... what did we have here today? Breakfast, Yamamoto's style. Check. Baseball game. Check. Gokudera being irritated by innocent bystanders who don't know that thinking about his lover in any way is forbidden. Check, check. In other words, three requests have been filled. The other two, as I said before, next chapter together with, of course, more of the original plot.

One more thing, just to let you know. There are supposed to be five more chapters to the story and a sixth which will be the epilogue. Then, after it is completed, the one shot with the missing part of chapter 6. It still doesn't have a title and needs some more improvements before it is finished, then it will be uploaded.

The short side story about what the rest of the family had been doing while the two had been locked, with the focus on Xanxus and Tsuna, will be titled 'Empires Fall Slowly' and is going to be released after the one shot. It should have six chapters unless there are some last minute changes (I already know not to trust myself on this part... 'Blanco' was supposed to have eighteen chapters including the epilogue, but instead ended up with twenty three. And I'm telling you that it's not because it's my favorite number :p).

Bye bye :]


	19. Your Soul

When translated, the song's original name is 'Let's' or 'Come', but both lose their meaning completely. So 'Your Soul' was the the best option as the name for the English version of the song by the same artist. I only used that version's name, though. So anything else is still translated.

There is an important note at the end, but don't worry. Really, don't worry.

**Blanco: Chapter 18 - Your soul**

* * *

_Come on, let's disperse of the mist,  
__let us stand in the light, not in the shadow._

_When will we stop turning to power plays?  
__You are allowed to cry sometimes,  
__when something breaks inside of you._

* * *

Currently, Gokudera Hayato was sitting comfortably on the sofa. Yamamoto Takeshi was with him, sitting on the other side. A strong feeling of deja vu came over him as he asked the rain guardian if he would like something to drink. The feeling only got stronger when the tall teen agreed quietly and he found himself getting up from his sitting place. He really began wondering whether the situation had already happened before, but shrugged it as just a random, unimportant feeling when he reminded himself that Yamamoto had not really been at his place for him to actually forget that it did happen once before.

For some reason, as soon as he got up, he began rushing to get the other boy the glass of water he requested. Really, it was like he didn't have any control over his body. Stupid, isn't it? He had been too distracted by his thoughts to really notice the table's leg and before he even realized what was happening, he was already falling. The silver haired boy could barely take control over himself to put his hands in front of him as he fell to the floor with dizzying slowness.

It was a good thing his hands hit the floor, because had they not been there, his head would have. Instincts were a good thing to have.

Disoriented, the storm guardian was now on his hands and knees. He opened his eyes and looked down to see his hands. But his hands were different. Restrained. His hands were chained to the floor by a bloodied metal chain that connected to cuffs that surrounded his wrists. He tried pulling them, but the sound of a whip broke his concentration and he unconsciously flinched.

His entire body reacted violently fast as he stopped breathing, his shoulders crouched, his eyes shut, and his hands gripped at the chains. But there was no pain. There was no pain so obviously, there was no attack. He slowly opened his eyes, one at a time, as if he was afraid that suddenly something, anything, would jump at him. And the moment his eyes focused and he could see clearly again, he so wished he hadn't.

In front of him, were not his chained hands, but a broken body. And it had not been his blood that was covering the floor, but his lover's. He didn't really know when it happened, just that it did, and before long, he was screaming without a care to who might hear him. His mind was surely playing tricks on him, because it was over. They were free and what he was seeing was wrong. He shouldn't have ever seen that picture again. His hands, free of chains, flew to his head and his pale fingers gripped his silver hair so tightly that it probably hurt.

It didn't hurt as much as his soul was hurting at those moments though.

* * *

Gokudera Hayato woke up. He was sweating, panting and practically shaking with terror. He didn't know whether he really screamed or not, but it didn't matter since his mind didn't register it anyway. He was in a state of shock, understandably. After all this kind of thing was new to him.

Simply put, he was freaking out. Up until then, it had only been Yamamoto who was suffering the nightmares, the lasting damages and mental effects. Not even once had he suffered from one haunting moment, not that he hadn't experience any, the nightmare just now was a proof of that. True, he might have been a bit paranoid and being locked did change him quiet a bit, but he thought, more so, hoped, that he would be spared of at least the nightmares. And not just for his own well being too, for the rein guardian's too. After all, the other one still had his own nightmares and memories to suffer from, he shouldn't have to be woken up by the other boy's as well.

And that had been the worse. The sudden useless, weak feeling that made him think how could he help Yamamoto pass through the nights if he , himself, can't do it properly?

In fact, how could the other boy close his eyes every night knowing, and that was the most difficult part to comprehend, what awaits him on the other side of the relaxed darkness. Deep inside though, he knew the answer pretty well. Because there was no other way. Because he would have had to sleep at some point, it was inevitable.

Almost as if thinking about the dark haired boy had the effect of waking him up, he had. Actually, the boy had been awake ever since he lost the warm hands that surrounded him as he slept. And it didn't take him long to realize what was going on as he saw Gokudera sitting against the headboard with his gaze focused on the ceiling. The swordsman could almost hear the other boy's unnaturally fast heartbeat in the silence that surrounded the both of them during those moments.

He didn't waste any time as he got himself into an equal sitting position and wrapped his arms around the oblivious boy, making him freeze. Comfort. That was the only thing he could offer. Comfort and reassuring words. So he thought about the worst thoughts Gokudera could have in his ming at the moment and went along with it. His voice, as rough and unused from sleep as it was, echoed from the room's walls as he buried his head in the silver locks. The shaking stopped the moment his voice was heard, whether from shock, attentiveness or anything else.

After all, it had been Yamamoto who gave the storm guardian the definite answer in a confident voice that left no options for arguing

"We'll take care of each other."

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me it was that awful?"

The sun had risen, morning had come, both boys were eating breakfast in complete silence. It might have been morning, and yet, still, the night's events were not forgotten. They were there, in the room, as a dark presence that reminded both boy's of the darkest times. Sure, the brightest moments always come after the darkest times, but it was also that the brightest times were overshadowed by the darkest moments.

Only then, when he had regained his composure as much as he could, did Gokudera truly realize just how much those dreams could affect someone's life. You can't concentrate at all while you think about them, while they attack your mind. You are hopeless in light of the haunting moments and more than everything, they make you relieve the entire experience with nothing but your own mind and thoughts. A trap.

Gokudera was now even more amazed at how his lover had managed to survive through all that and still keep his sanity. Not only were his dreams probably even more hurtful than his own, but he also had to deal with them for a lot longer.

And that particular realization was what unconsciously made him think again about everything all over again. And so, he decided, not waiting for the answer to his question, to take this new revelation and do something about it. The new change of aspect. There had to be some reason he had been faced with what he had. Perhaps he really didn't understand his lover as much as he thought he did.

He decided he would hold himself back even more than he had before, and would take care of Yamamoto. He wouldn't make the tall one feel pressured for anything. Because if he couldn't take care of his lover from his own nightmares, he should at least make it up to him during the day, avoiding the other's nightmares.

So he vowed to himself as he looked into the confused dark eyes in front of him.

He vowed that from that moment on, every touch, every kiss, every word and practically every action that could make the other relieve the memories of his rape, would be done with the thought of protecting the other boy at the back of his mind. Protect him from himself. His urges, his needs, even his emotions.

* * *

_So tell me a bit, about the moments of fear.  
__It's much easier to be afraid together._

* * *

It was much later, at evening, that the two guardians could actually feel comfortable around each other to return to their normal characters. The silver haired one acted as if he had forgotten what had happened, and the black haired one allowed him to.

But now, Gokudera was nervous. Though he know he shouldn't be, he might have met Yamamoto's father before, but only for short moments. He walked through the restaurant's with Yamamto by his side and settled on sitting by one of the tables. His back was stiff and his arms were sweating slightly when he greeted the old man.

Yamamoto senior gave him a raised eyebrow at the half bow he gave the man. It had not been the end though, and when he reached out a hand to shake the other's as he introduced himself 'officially', with a stutter, his hand practically collided with the older one's stomach. Had he been less nervous he might have commented the man about how built he was, but that wasn't the case.

Both Yamamotos' snickered at his own personal comedy of errors and at first Gokudera blushed but then also joined in as he realized how he must have looked to the other two.

"It's fine!" the old man called cheerfully as he stalled the Italian's back and ushered both him and his son to pass through the door to the house. "You don't have to be so nervous."

It wasn't really helping the storm guardian to relax, because at the man's other hand was a rather large and intimidating knife that made him cringe mentally as he caught the way the man was waving it casually around. His boyfriend was already in the living room.

Somehow, the Italian had been right, it wasn't safe for him to be there. It had only been a few minutes later when he came to that realization. Surely, he would kill himself by the time they actually got to go up to the room. And the two carefree, father and son, didn't seem to care. Maybe because they had been enjoying his discomfort a bit too much.

"And then there was the time that he forgot his towel before taking a shower and in his attempt to get himself dry he got out and I'm telling you this now, I never wanted to see _that_." the old man was speaking with feigned horror as he continued telling the story to the two young, blushing, boys. "To make it worse though, he hadn't even noticed it was me and not you, son." he looked at the tall boy, "Because he was sure it had been you at that room since he was used to the older you already."

At that, the rain guardian looked at his boyfriend and began laughing uncontrollably as he imagined the situation in his head. A naked Gokudera, standing in front of his father without worries because he mistook the older from the younger.

"Takeshi?" the silver haired guardian's voice was mostly quiet and unreadable.

"Yes, Hayato?"

"Please kindly refrain from stepping on my ego any more than you already had." it had been a long evening for the storm guardian and just when he thought he couldn't blush even more than he already had, the man would find another story to tell about all those times his future self had messed up.

It didn't take long until Gokudera had finally had enough. He blushed one time too many, and called it a day as he announced he was going to take a shower. Both Yamamoto's laughed at him.

"Don't forget to take a towel with you." Yamamoto junior taunted under the disguise of reminding the other boy to do it correctly this time.

Gokudera left the living room to the sound of the laughing duo who could both vaguely hear grumbles about 'obviously it hasn't been me, ' and 'do you really think I could be that stupid?'

And the Italian found out later, not much later, that he should have taken the advice from his lover. That is, when he stopped the water from running and reached for his nonexistent towel.

He began running scripts in his head about going to take a towel and seeing the older Yamamoto. He shuddered. No chance he wanted that to happen. It was bad enough he had to hear about it happening to his older self, having to experience it himself would be unbearable.

So he reasoned with himself. 'It's just a few meters, nothing could go wrong, right?' wrong.

Because as soon as he stepped out of the bathroom with his newly reestablished confidence, he was faced head on with a Yamamoto. In his case though, it had been the young one who got an eyeful. Not much encouraging, but still a lot better than the second scenario he was still involuntarily imagining.

Was it even possible to have deja vu about something that happened to your future self?

Man, he didn't think anyone could turn from completely pale to beet red in less than a second. He night not have seen it, but he sure as hell could feel the burning of his cheeks. A new record might have been broken. Was it even physically possible? What with the whole heartbeat being the cause issue? Just how fast was his heart beating then?

"You...forgot your towel." Yamamoto stated lamely.

'Oh really? Because I think it's more in the direction of 'I wanted to feel free so I decided to dismiss my towel and go burden free into the open air' sarcasm was at it's peak. And just why was he looking down there instead of up at his face?

Gokudera's musings were safely accompanied by bitter embarrassment.

* * *

_When cold winds will storm outside,  
__I will send a warm fire through you._

_One day you will stop running  
__between the shadows  
__of your soul._

* * *

"Done."

Yamamoto's satisfied grin only became wider at the sour look his boyfriend gave him. It had been a really difficult mission to get Gokudera into bed that night, which is fairly understandable since there was no hope that the boy had forgotten his nightmare just like that. Not from morning to night. Not even after he tried to make it seem like it didn't happen.

Even after the storm guardian was in bed, he still refused to close his eyes, relax and go to sleep. So the rain guardian came up with a plan to make the other boy to relax enough so he could sleep. And that had been why Gokudera currently had three braids in three different places in his silver, silky hair. Yamamoto, for his part, was still contently working on the fourth.

After all, it was a known fact that some people would relax and begin to feel sleepy when their hair is being played with.

It wasn't long until they settled into a nice position that pulled them both into a comfortable, yet, in one case, somewhat involuntary, sleep while the other case was reluctant yet accepting. The room was filled with the night's silence as the two boys kept each other as close as they could. The silver haired guardian's scarred back was against the black haired guardian's scarred front.

Needless to say, they fit perfectly.

* * *

If you didn't like the chapter, just think about it as a continuation to the previous one. :] (I know for sure I might have done a better job on this one had I had moree time to write it... sorry =\)

"I have from now until mid April almost free of everything. Which means I'm going to update much more frequently than I already am." Remember those words and the ones that followed them? Well, now is where it might change. My life is going to get much busier and I would not have the time I have at the moment to write.

You see, I'll still try to update at least once a week, but from now on I can't promise it. From now on, I'm only going to be home during the weekends, which also means there is no other time for me to write and update than those days. It's also possible for me to come home only once in two weeks, and that's why I had to tell you this beforehand. I wouldn't want you to wait for more than I said you would.

Don't get me wrong. There will still be updates and I'm far from letting go of the story. It's just that I really don't want you to think that way if I suddenly don't update for more than a week and a half. I'm not going to disappear. And I know it makes it sound even worse, but I'll just have to prove that it's possible for me to write and update only during the weekends.

So next update _should_ be in a week, two weeks at most :] oh, and if you are curious because you couldn't guess or just don't want to think much yet really want to know the reason for why I won't be home, feel free to send me a message and I'll be happy to answer to any questions you have. It's no secret and I assure you that it's nothing illegal :p

By the way... next chapter is a lemon. (am I evil?)

Bye bye.


	20. This Pain

Hi everyone :] I just finished the chapter and I'm too tired to write a lot now, so I'll make this quick.

I hope at least some of you have seen the note in my profile, I apologize if you didn't and had to wait another week without knowing that the update was delayed.

First of all, I'm fine, so please don't be worried. It's just that I have a lot less time than I had before and it might seem to you like I'm disappearing or something like that. Don't be surprised if something about the way I write or anything at all has changed though. These past three weeks passed so fast for me and I've changed a lot.

The next updates will be just like this one. I hope that it would take less than three weeks but I have no idea whether I am going to be home next weekend or not. So, just to make it clear: I can write only during the weekends. This is the only time I'm home and have a computer. Some weekends, like the last one, I won't be home. So I can't promise a chapter for every weekend or even two.

Next, are the warnings. The main reason this story was rated M was this chapter in the plan. This is important, so don't say I didn't warn you before:

**Warnings: Sexual situations, M\M, graphic contents, underage (well, the both of them...) and everything that goes along. This is my first fic, so this is my first lemon, just so you know.**

Now, enjoy.

**Blanco: Chapter 19 – This Pain**

* * *

_Until now, nothing had been left,  
__give me a sign.  
__The pain still remains,  
__yes, all the time._

* * *

A week couldn't have passed any faster.

Between sharing their days and nights, spending time together from sunrise to sunset and to sunrise again, the two Vongola guardians had very few moments of separation to keep them apart.

It had been a great week and both Gokudera and Yamamoto tried to make the most of every moment it included. Once again, it goes without words that they had done so together. They used their time to do everything they wanted to do during their stay in the future but couldn't because they weren't allowed to go out.

Reborn's habit of popping up whenever and wherever he felt like it had gotten to the point where there was nothing neither funny nor amusing about it anymore. It was plainly annoying and unproductive in more ways than one and the two boys could not stand it any longer.

Both the storm guardian and the rain guardian could feel the rising tension and efforts each put into their private and intimate moments together, they could not afford any other obstacles to come between them than the ones that already were.

That's why when the arcobaleno stood right in front of them during one of the evenings of the week, the two guardians had a desperate look on their faces and a frustrated feeling in their bodies as they brought this up. The baby didn't seem to mind the fair request and took it quite well with a secretive smile and a disconcerting sentence right before he left,

"Really, the mafia kids these days have no respect for their elders at all. Anyway, it's not my fault that you are always doing something when I come to visit, do you ever actually stop? Never mind, ciao."

* * *

_You go away, like a fading wave  
__and on the warm sand,  
__it's just the stare that hurts so much._

* * *

A situation when Gokudera Hayato had to use great efforts to subdue his desire, halt his lust and ignore his needs was not a rare one these days. It seemed like since his resolution to slow the relationship's pace down had been formed, the feelings had intensified. The result was obviously frustrating.

His lover, none other than the tall Vongola swordsman, Yamamoto Takeshi, was not much help either. For every step the silver haired guardian took to move further away from his lover, the other took a step to grow closer. For every hand that left the dark haired boy's smooth skin, another hand caressed pale yet warm skin.

And just when the storm guardian thought that his control had been tested enough, his lover decided to address the issue in a more than simply straight forward way.

* * *

_You are there, inside the fracture,  
__between blood and smoke,  
__so lost.  
__And I have no strength anymore,  
__no strength to see you fall._

* * *

Too much

That had been the general thought that kept passing through Yamamoto's mind. Day and night, morning and evening. There was too much distance between his lover and himself. It wasn't him who put it there, that much he knew, but it didn't help much to realize that Gokudera had been the one to distance himself from his tall lover.

He just didn't know what to do anymore. Was he not enough? Were his efforts not as effective as he thought they were? Because the entire state their relationship was currently settled in seemed too wrong to ignore.

But it wasn't like the silver haired guardian to stay quiet about something that bothered him, and that had been the most confusing. Normally, if Gokudera didn't like something, he would say it without waiting for his patience to lose the battle completely. So why was it that in a subject so important to them both, the Italian was acting as if he was hiding his motives and thoughts with so many efforts?

There was a strain on their relationship. It was like the storm guardian suddenly forgot how to act around his lover. Every touch and every kiss were different. Simply put, it wasn't like Gokudera was avoiding Yamamoto, but instead held himself back in his presence. For Yamamoto, it felt no less wrong and not more justified.

While kissing, it was obvious the storm guardian was holding back, restraining himself. By the way he always held himself around Yamamoto and the way he always seemed to stop himself from going further, stop his mouth from moving lower, stop his hands from doing more. It was clear that the teen in front of him was trying to prevent himself from doing anything that might eventually hurt his lover, his friend.

Even things that weren't physical, like the tone he was using or even the words he was choosing to say. Every thing and every part of Gokudera's attempt to avoid causing the tall boy to remember, to recall, seemed to have been planned carefully.

Yamamoto had known of this even before their relationship began, by the way he was treated so carefully by the silver haired boy that he didn't seem like the Gokudera he knew anymore. It might have been the small things, those that would normally go by unnoticed, but those details exactly were what made the difference. Those aspects of their relationship exactly that showed just how much and, most importantly, why the storm guardian had changed. And it had been for those reasons in particular that made the rain guardian hate it so much.

'It' was not referring to the relationship. It was definitely not referring to Gokudera himself, as a person. It was not referring to the reserved hands or the restrained mouth, not to the way he was treated and not to the times he could see the strained expression on his lover's face. It was not even referring to everything as a whole, but more likely to the situation itself and the way Gokudera had chosen to deal with it.

He shouldn't have to take all the responsibility on himself, it wasn't fair.

And that had been even _before. '_Before' refers to earlier that week, a few days previously. Ever since that nightmare Gokudera had, he didn't touch him at all! Well, that was maybe a bit untrue, but it came far too close to even be distinguished. Gokudera had been touching him, but not in the way he wanted him to. He had been kissing him, but once more, not in the way he truly wished for. And to make it worse, he had been acting like there was nothing wrong.

He had to admit that it had gotten to the point where he was so frustrated he thought about confronting the other boy about it. Since the change had been so sudden. At first, he tried to reason it, find an explanation. The most believable one he could come up with was that whatever nightmare his boyfriend had suffered was about what Gamma had done to him. Not to himself, but to Gokudera. But that reason had proved to be unlikely since even though the storm guardian didn't touch him, he still looked like he wanted to and wasn't afraid for himself.

And that, undoubtedly and understandably, had caused the rain guardian to suffer even more frustration. Because it meant that whatever that cause was that made his lover distance himself physically from him, was something important enough to make him ignore his needs. Even at night, when they would go to bed, he would handle Yamamoto like some fragile glass instead of a living, fully functioning person.

Finally, Yamamoto decided that he had had enough. He was tense, he was frustrated and he was worried that something was wrong. His boyfriend had been holding back for no apparent reason and was acting like nothing was wrong.

It was after Gokudera dragged his teeth down his sweaty body but stopped just above the pants line that he felt like he couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop." he said fiercely.

Gokudera had not only stopped, but ceased any skin to skin contact he had with the tall boy as if he had been burned. Something was wrong.

"Is everything alright? I didn't mean to go too far, I just..." Gokudera seemed to be at a loss for words. His concern looked genuine, and that had been what made Yamamoto hurry to give him the reason regardless of his own personal worries.

"Hayato, I..." he began, it was harder to say than he had hoped it would have been, but he had to say it. "I want to do it, Hayato."

True, it sounded so formal now that he had said it, but he still hoped his lover would understand his reason for asking this right at that moment.

"What?" the storm guardian's shocked face did not come as a surprise for his boyfriend. He had been expecting something like that. "But we haven't... done anything yet, we shouldn't rush it... Why?"

Gokudera's broken sentence couldn't really express everything that had been going inside his head after hearing Yamamoto's request. Demand even. He was obviously shocked as he didn't expect something like that to be said. But that wasn't the end of it. He might have been confused as to why the other boy would ask something like that of him, but he was also worried about it. He seemed to have managed to both process and deny what he had just heard.

On the one hand, he understood the request, it was simple enough to not leave any room for questions. On the other hand, he looked at his dark eyed lover and just couldn't believe that he had heard the words right. Perhaps he might have heard right, but Yamamoto had somehow made a mistake while trying to say something else. But if that was the case, why wasn't he correcting himself? What was he waiting for with that expectant expression on his face? He didn't even answer Gokudera's question, he just sat there, like he was waiting for something, and the silver haired teen just couldn't keep quiet after those silent moments.

So finally, he added the only words that came to his mouth with a quiet tone. "Don't you want to take things slow?"

He might have looked really worried, because Gokudera couldn't find another reason for why Yamamoto's expression suddenly changed into a sad, knowing one instead of the deadly serious one he had just mere moments ago.

"True." the rain guardian said in an even voice. He was being honest about his reasons, not even feeling the slightest need to lie. "That was what I wanted."

"Then, why?"

"Because that was before. This last week, even before, I have been thinking a lot about this. Don't think that it was easy for me to come up with this request and have enough motivation to go through with it." the swordsman told his green eyed lover. "I was afraid and I thought that we would have to wait a lot before I would be ready, but I don't feel this way anymore."

At this point, his hand began shaking slightly and a pale hand immediately came and covered it with warmth and confidence. Gokudera didn't seem to notice his own action in his concentration on his lover's words.

"I don't want this this shadow to keep scaring us from doing everything together. I want to know that I'm free of it." Yamamoto said honestly. "There is nothing here, when I'm with you that makes me feel what I felt back then. There is nothing about you that reminds me of _him_. For me, these would be two different and completely unrelated acts and moments of my life." he stopped as he took in his lover's dumbfounded expression. Then he finished his explanation and request with hopes and expectations evident in his aura,

"And I know that you might not be ready yet, but if this is only because of me than could you agree to do it? Please? For me?"

Gokudera, for his part, was trying to use his normally useful mind to come up with the right answer as to how he could deal with the situation. Though a part of him was screaming with all it's might that this was too soon, that this wasn't the right time for Yamamoto, the major part told him to go at it. That he would have to be crazy to refuse that.

The other boy had said that the decision was not made lightly, and after all he really was his own person. His lover had his own thoughts and feelings and that was not a hard thing to understand. If Yamamoto said he was ready, then Gokudera believed him. It was as simple as that. As he looked at the seriousness in the captivating darkened eyes his mouth moved on it's own when it opened and he said,

"Alright."

The relief and appreciation that could be seen in the dark eyes were priceless as his mouth stayed closed. Gokudera wordlessly pushed his tall lover down on the bed and placed his lips gently over the other's. It took them both a few minutes to come out of their shock and become a lot more aware. That was when instincts took place.

The gentle kiss was cut when Gokudera lifted his head and opened his eyes to stare at the mirroring lust filled eyes that watched him carefully.

"Stop me at any time you feel something is wrong."

Those were his last words for that moment of captivating auras. He lowered his head once again but this time slammed his lips to the other's hungrily while his hands began working on taking off Yamamoto's already unbuttoned shirt.

It didn't take long. Soon enough, all that was left of the tall boy's clothes were his boxers and it evidently seemed satisfying enough for the silver haired teen since he began taking his own clothes off while he kept his position on top of his lover. He never took his eyes off the body underneath him. His loving gaze tore through the rain guardian and looked deep into his soul.

As soon as he got rid of his clothes, Gokudera moved to enjoy Yamamoto's pleasure. He lowered his head and began kissing and sucking the other's neck. Moving slowly, he went lower, to the scarred chest, and while drawing moans, licked and traced every line, every scar. His lover was beautiful.

Yamamoto was lost in his bliss as he drowned in the pleasure his boyfriend was giving him. The same pleasure that he had been denied for the last week. His mind was no longer working when he suddenly realized everything had stopped again and he opened his eyes carefully to see what was wrong. He hoped with all his heart that this was not when his moment would be stopped as he looked quizzically at his lover's eyes.

"Why did you stop?"

Gokudera did something strange after that. He averted his eyes and his cheeks began turning red as he turned his half naked body to the side as much as his position allowed. It seemed like he wanted to say something but couldn't get it out.

"Why?" he asked again, this time waiting with more curiosity than dread for the answer.

"Because..." the storm guardian began, his blush deepened and his features stilled according to his lover's anticipation. "Well, I just thought that..."

Gokudera was beginning to get annoyed with himself. This was not like him to act like this. He was not one to cower and fear before even doing or saying something. So he gathered himself for the one final time before explaining for real this time.

"I want you to be on top." he stated simply with confidence that was definitely not there just mere moments ago. At the swordsman's growing confusion he made his reasons clear. His resolution did not waver for even a second. "Even if you said that you were ready, that doesn't mean your body is, and I don't want something bad to happen on our first time together." his blush was an unconscious match to his words.

"I know it will be hard for you to be on the receiving end of this no matter how ready you think you are and it will not be fair for you to suffer through something that you want to experience." he took a deep breath before saying his last line. "For someone like you, someone strong that I respect and trust, I wouldn't feel weaker than I truly am to submit. For someone that I love." and it was true, he would have no problem to allow himself to relinquish control to his lover.

Now that Yamamoto understood and accepted the storm guardian's reasons, his thoughts took a different turn. It didn't seem like such a good idea now that their positions have changed, Yamamoto concluded. He would have to hurt Gokudera? Instead of dwelling for a pointless amount of time over his worries, he voiced them,

"But I don't want to hurt you." it was simple, but he felt that he made his point.

"You won't, you'll see." Gokudera said confidently, almost as if he had been waiting for this answer, and continued. "I said that at any time you would want to stop it would be possible, but please don't back down just because the positions have changed. What, did you think I was going to hurt you?"

The comment made Yamamoto pause for a few seconds before he gained control over his storming thoughts. "No." he whispered as he thought of the question repeatedly. "You would never hurt me. Especially not like _that_" the whispered voice came out as anything but weak. It was fierce and determined and left no room for questions.

"Then what makes you think that you would hurt me?" the silver haired guardian asked absently as he kept himself from shaking with need and desire at the tone his lover used. "Besides, I have a mouth, I can tell you if and when something is wrong. You were willing to trust me this much before, just now actually, then just accept the trust I place on you." Gokudera said with a knowing smile. "Go on. Don't stop just because you are afraid you'd hurt me."

It was a long moment before Yamamoto realized that Gokudera was right and that it didn't really matter. Beside, it was his lover who offered himself and he somehow had a feeling that it would cause more damage than good to turn him down at this point. He would probably think he wasn't wanted or something like that.

He looked up and saw his lover waiting patiently. He sat up slowly, with the silver haired teen still on his lap and carefully wrapped his hands around the exposed pale waist. He instinctively began with a kiss. Not one like what Gokudera had just given him, but a softer one. One that was almost hesitant. He drew more confidence as he heard Gokudera moan into the kiss and his hands seemed to have moved according to the new confidence and moved to explore. Up the back, down the front, wherever there was skin, there were hands. It came to Yamamoto naturally. If only to hear his lover's amazingly arousing voice.

Without one or the other noticing, they both found themselves once again out of their sitting position as one was on his back on the bed while the other straddled him and took the lead. This time though, it had been Yamamoto's athletic and lean body that towered over Gokudera's pale and smooth one. It had been Yamamoto who licked and sucked and took his time until it got to the point when there were Gokudera's skin was covered with red marks. It finally came to the point that the remaining piece of clothes disturbed Yamamoto's work and he had to remove it.

Contrary to his former beliefs, he didn't even think twice.

He threw the piece away from the bed that was his entire world during those moments and continued his former actions. That was after he took in the silver haired guardian's arousal. If he had his doubts before, then he was now proud to say that yes, his lover was naturally silver haired. He leaned back to take one last fulfilling look over the flushed and marked body before he leaned down and began appreciating the beauty even more thoroughly.

What was going to come next he already had in mind. While one hand moved slowly up and down pale thighs, the other went to his mouth as he licked three of his fingers to prepare for the next step. As soon as the fingers left his mouth his lips replaced his hand and began marking that area as well. With one hand holding Gokudera's hips in place, the other sneaked to another part and halted just a moment after it made contact with the soft skin. He looked up from his position and his eyes were what asked the much needed question.

'Are you ready for this?'

It seemed that the green eyed teen was indeed ready, because once he opened one eye at the pause he had felt and saw the hesitant gesture, he nodded. Panting and needy with lust as he was, there was no other answer for him.

The moment after was when he found himself once again feeling the uneasiness of a finger in a place that was awkward for it to be pressed into. But just as Yamamoto said, it was different. There was no intimidation or even pain, he wasn't bleeding or suffering. He was willing and he was with someone he loved. For him that was what mattered and that was more than enough.

The finger moved, first with hesitation but then seemed to explore. As the ring was stretched enough, another finger joined. Once again, there was no pain. Yamamoto's long fingers went in and out, only stopping to change their direction until a groan suddenly came to his ears. He stopped everything with fear that he hurt his lover and looked up to see what he expected less to see.

Gokudera's mouth was open and his eyes were closed tightly with pleasure. He was flushed and looked completely, desirably sexy. For lack of a better word. The rain guardian didn't need to be told anything before he once again began moving his fingers with a certain daze.

As his third finger passed through the muscles, there was no sound from his lover until the three long fingers pressed once again into Gokudera's blissful spot and made his voice make his pleasure known.

It was when the fingers stopped and retreated when he had finally regained at least some portion of his mind. Small as it might be, he could still see the hesitation in his lover's eyes when he looked up and realized the other guardian didn't know what to do next. Well, he was sure that the instincts were doing their job properly, but the same mind was surprisingly still there and functioning properly to a certain point. It was their first time doing that after all. Of course the dark haired teen would feel nervous.

And so he decided to make it easier on his lover.

Taking the lead, he sat up, surprising Yamamoto in the process, and silently guided the other to do the same. Then, he sat on the taller one's lap and grabbed the leaking, neglected member and drew a pleasured moan from his lover's mouth. He got up on his knees, one hand stabilizing him was put on a firm shoulder while the other hand moved to bring Yamamoto's hands to hold his hips and then returned to it's former lower place, where it seemed like it was needed the most.

He took a deep breath and wordlessly positioned himself above the swordsman's member. He looked directly at the dark, lust-filled eyes that didn't have any confusion in them once the teen had managed to understand what Gokudera was doing. And together, both helped to lower the silver haired boy down with shared control.

Gokudera's hand that was holding Yamamoto had left and joined his other hand on the second shoulder as he closed his eyes against the sensations that coursed through his body. There was pain, there was a lot of pain actually, but he had been prepared for it, literally. There was pressure, and a strange feeling he could not describe but knew that it didn't feel too nice.

But then there was something else. As he finally sat down on the tall boy's hips, the entire length as deep as it possibly can be inside of him, he could feel himself connected to the other boy. He was not just with him, they were practically one being at that moment. The connection he could feel to the other boy during that blissful moment was stronger than any he had ever felt. Stronger than sleeping by his side, simply hearing his breaths, feeling his heartbeats. Now, he could hear the breaths and know that those strained pants were there because of him, that the rhythm of the heart was made just for him.

It was a tremendously fulfilling experience, and he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

A strained gasp brought him back from his reverie. While he was reveling in the newly acquired feeling, Yamamoto had apparently been struggling to stay still. He leaned down to place a soft kiss over his lover's neck and just before he let his desires roam free, he whispered,

"Come on, do whatever you want. I'm your's now even more than I have been before."

And that had probably been what made the change. With sharp movement, Yamamoto easily changed their position to it's original one, with him on top of his lover. Their connection was what made the difference though, and both guardians had to let out a moan at the sudden movement. With one last breath he pulled back a bit before pushing slowly inside. The feeling was amazing and there was nothing he could think of that could express what he felt for his lover during those moments as he got used to the tightness and heat.

Soon, it was not just hesitant movement nor was it carefully planned. It was purely instinctive as the two lovers shared their love and their bodies for the first time.

The levels of pleasure that coursed through the both of them were tremendous and both were sharing the same single thought that survived in their hazed minds. They didn't want this to be over. The feelings, the sensations, their rare connection. It was more than just a gift and couldn't have come at a better time. Just after they went back, yet just before they have to return to their regular routine. They were there, on the bed, and couldn't have a worry in their mind even if they wished for it with everything they had. Simply because everything they had was currently absorbed into their act.

"I'm going to..." Gokudera began "I... ah--" he buried his face in his lover's neck as he came and slumped down on the bed while the strong body still held him firmly. Had his mouth not been so close to the other's ear at the moment, his words would have most likely gone unheard. The whispered words that came with bliss and release.

"I love you so much."

Yamamoto kept pushing for short moments. Covered with sweat and panting with more need than ever before, he kept going until he felt his pleasure coming onto him with waves and colors. Euphoria. Such a great word that is put to shame by the even greater feeling it described. The mere sensations the swordsman could feel himself experiencing were enough to last him a lifetime. The last sound to cross the room had been the exhausted voice of Vongola's rain guardian.

"I love you too, Hayato."

* * *

_When your body heat is inside me,  
__you hold me, excited,  
__twisting intensely,_

_this pain hits me once again._

* * *

And that's it, people :] not the story, no, there is still more things to close and add, so don't worry... How was it?

As I said before, I have no idea when the next chapter will be ready, so just stay aware for updates in my profile if there is still no update after three weeks.

Next chapter: The morning after. (says it all, right?) should be romantic :]

Until then,

Bye bye


	21. White Butterflies

**Blanco – Chapter 20: White Butterflies**

* * *

_Your smell is still on me since yesterday  
__so is your taste in my mouth.  
__I want to know everything of every thing,  
__what does all this truly means?_

* * *

When Yamamoto Takeshi's eyes opened at the first ray of sunlight that fell upon his eyelids and showed the world that he woke up, he couldn't remember where he was or what he was doing there. It had the strange morning feeling that a person gets sometimes after falling asleep without even realizing it. As his eyes got used to the light and he could see clearly, he looked to the sides so he could gather more details about his surroundings.

And when his eyes stopped suddenly on the one most important part of the room, he remembered.

As he looked down at the sleeping face of his beautiful lover, he remembered. Remembered what had happened and what they had done just mere hours before. And while he was still a bit confused by sleep, his mind was working in a surprisingly clear way. The moment he looked to his side and saw his lover sleeping peacefully surrounded by his long arm was the moment everything fell into place.

'Oh my god, what have we... what have I done?'

And so only seconds later found the Vongola swordsman sitting on the edge of the bed with his arms on his knees and his face on his hands, regrets fresh in him mind. The only thing he had done correctly by his standards since he woke was to cover his boyfriend with the formerly stranded blanket. Even then he was met with the sight of an unpleasant result he would rather leave out of his mind for as long as he can manage it.

They were reckless, too rash and probably didn't think it through. Will this change everything for them? For their relationship? What were they thinking? Those questions kept coming to the rain guardian's mind and it meant a lot that someone as optimistic as him would find it difficult to find answers to them.

Meanwhile, as Yamamoto was too closed inside his own mind, from the other side of the bed his lover woke up. It wouldn't be weird to find out that the storm guardian noticed the lack of warmth source through his sleep and was drawn to consciousness by this. Once he opened his eyes though, he could clearly see that his lover was not by his side and as his eyes looked around they fell on the crouched figure.

* * *

_Another leaf falls from the tree  
__and another new one grows.  
__I want to paint me a world  
__with the colors of sweet honey._

* * *

"Takeshi." he called, his voice rough from sleep and his mind just screaming to him to grab the other teen and pull him back to his rightful place. This would not do though, because he could see that something was not right and he couldn't leave it at that. He wouldn't. "What's wrong? Is there something you want to talk about?"

Yamamoto in turn looked at him briefly and even if it was only for a second he saw the remorseful gleam in the startled eyes. He repeated his question with more conviction then. "Is there something wrong?"

A short silence filled the room while the tall teen thought carefully about how to voice his thoughts, whether or not to voice his regrets and why couldn't he just move on with the feelings he had those hours ago, when he connected irreversibly with his lover.

Finally, the only thing he could manage to get out of his mouth was, "I'm sorry."

This, more than anything, had caught the silver haired teen off guard and made him look at the other resident in the room even more carefully, studying him. "What for?" it was a genuine question. After all, the last time the both of them were awake together was one of the best meoments in his life. What should his partner be sorry for?

The answer that came from the dark eyed teen was simple. "I enjoyed last night so much that I didn't notice you were hurt."

"Hurt? What are you talking about?" the Italian was completely losing the other boy's line of thought it seemed.

"I'm such a bad lover." the Japanese boy said with full belief as he lowered his head even more with shame. He elaborated even more. "Blood. There was blood." he said as he gestured with his still lowered head in a defeated manner towards somewhere around the bed where Gokudera was currently covering. This had caused the green eyed boy to look down with confusion and then back at his lover.

"Of course there will be." the storm guardian said then after he had found what Yamamoto had seen. He released a sight and continued, hoping that that was all. "It's my first time."

"But you were hurt!" Yamamoto looked shocked at Gokudera as he said those words. How could he not blame him for something like that? "How can you be so calm about this?" he was so unprepared for a reaction like that that he let another sentence slip through his lips. A sentence that reflected his darkest and most painful thought.

"I'm no better than Gamma."

* * *

_White butterflies  
__once again fly to the light,  
__like the songs, the stories._

_Slipping into your soul._

* * *

"Wait, what?" Gokudera was not following. This was not what should have happened when they woke up. They should have just kept sleeping until one of them woke up. Then, that one wouldn't wake the other up but instead use that time hypnotized by his lover's features. When the other would finally wake up, then they would kiss good morning and go eat breakfast. Maybe even one of them would make the other stay in bed while he goes to bring breakfast to the room. But none of that morning could be seen at the moment. The only reality of their true morning was shown transparently by the rain guardian's words.

"I hurt you, but I never noticed. I'm sorry." he continued then, not even knowing if what he was going to say would serve as a justification or not. For him though, it didn't matter. He didn't think he deserved anything after what he had done. "It just felt so good and I gave in and I lost control and...-"

"-And you think that I would have just laid there, suffering quietly while you were having your fun without saying a word?" Gokudera asked harshly enough to make the other guardian flinch visibly at the tone.

True, Yamamoto didn't really think about it that way, but that might be the only way it could have happened, right? Everything was his fault after all. So he stayed quiet, and waited for Gokudera to realize the situation suddenly and to begin yelling and accusing him. That was what he partially believed he deserved for hurting someone so precious.

"Then you are wrong." the storm guardian stated simply, lifting his head with pride and shocking his boyfriend once more. "You were the best." he added for good measure.

Yamamoto's mind couldn't really function at the dazzling smile Gokudera sent his way so he just asked dumbly,"Really?" he gathered his wits a bit more, he gathered his chin too. "You are not ju-"

A kiss was what made his words disappear. They were swallowed by the sweetness and the love that were currently covering his mouth. And the rain guardian would forever wonder how his storm guardian managed to get from point A, meaning the other side of the bed, to point B, meaning his side of the bed, with such agility.

"-No I'm not just saying this, you were amazing." Gokudera confessed truthfully. "In fact, after yesterday's perfect night, I might want a repeat performance."

Before he could even comprehend the offer, a sudden change that threw Yamamoto a bit off was when Gokudera began pushing him down lightly so he would lie on his back.

He looked up and was met with the sexiest look he had ever seen in his life. His lover, silver hair falling down and gracing his slightly flushed face. The green eyes darkened with lust that were looking at him with so much intensity he felt he could pass out if they just kept looking, burning him.

His heart was beating faster and faster as the teen above him lowered his face closer and closer to his own face and he had to fight really hard with his lungs to breathe. They didn't seem to want to.

It seemed like his body wasn't under his control anymore, but Gokudera's. The storm guardian's breathtaking eyes that were hypnotizing him all over again, never allowing him to close his eyes. His heart might as well have been held by Gokudera as well because it was obviously beating for him.

Kisses were trailing down his chest, going lower and lower and lower, the love was obvious. At that moment, only one thought came to his mind. One thought that was there some minutes before but now, showed in an entirely different context.

'Really, what was I thinking?'

* * *

_Once again, the same feeling that it's good to keep going on  
__and that you can lift your gaze up.  
__Even when the sun sets, even when it's dark,  
__it's the two of us together, me and you._

* * *

Well, that's it, but don't worry, I could almost tell you for sure that the next chapter will come out this weekend. Why so short you will ask, so I would answer now – it just didn't fit well with the next chapter's plan and while at the beginning I had this chapter a lot longer than it is now, I had to shorten it because none of the parts fit together. With that said, you should view it as I do, as some sort of an interlude...

Well, how can I say that next weekend would probably already have a chapter? Because as I said, this chapter was supposed to be longer. The meaning is that all the parts of the chapter that I took out will be in the next one. They are already written. Why almost and not for sure? Because while I'm supposed to be home this weekend, nothing is really 100% known until the last minute...

I really do think that it is better to update a chapter this short than wait another week, possibly two, for a longer one that wouldn't be good enough because none of the parts fit. If you don't see it that way, then I apologize, but there was nothing else I could do, it was a last minute change for the best in my opinion.

Next chapter: The family's acceptance. (So yeah, there will be many characters and interactions...)


	22. In a Beautiful Sunny Day

**Blanco: Chapter 21 - In a Beautiful Sunny Day**

* * *

_In a beautiful sunny day I open a window  
__so that a bit of light will get through to the apartment._

* * *

One casual morning, two Vongola guardians, who so happen to be lovers, were lying peacefully on the grass in a certain random park. It was the rain guardian's idea to go there and spend some quiet time in nature. His idea came after he looked out from the window in Gokudera's apartment and saw the beautiful park that reminded him so much. It was particularly green, with trees and grass all over it, covering every piece of it. There were flowers from all colors surrounding it and the best and most attractive part in it was most definitely the small pond that was located right in the middle of everything.

It looked so calming that the Japanese teen just couldn't stop himself from asking and he probably looked so convincing that the Italian teen just couldn't stop himself from agreeing to the already tempting request.

It was their last day of absolute freedom before they had to go back to school, go back to the regular, monotone, routine. It wasn't really surprising that they decided to take it easy and enjoy their time under the calm sky. That is, instead of running around to many different places like they had done for the past days. They didn't feel they had anything in particular to do nor did they feel they had anywhere they needed to be in. they could just truly relax for the first time in a long period of time.

* * *

_In a beautiful sunny day I look around and I understand,  
__what I wished for had come true._

* * *

"A rabbit, definitely a rabbit." the storm guardian determined in a confidence voice.

"What? Where?" the rain guardian asked while he moved his head from side to side in effort to catch the cloud shape that his boyfriend saw.

"Over there, you have to be blind to miss it."

"What, that large one? A rabbit?" Yamamoto mocked as he caught sight of the distorted rabbit shape Gokudera pointed at. "But it's so unclear, it could be a snake as much as it could be a rabbit."

"Of course it could." Gokudera agreed quietly with his now laughing friend. Then he continued with an annoyed tone, "It took you so long to see something so obvious that by the time you looked at it it had already lost it's shape!" at that point he was gesturing towards the cloud that now looked nothing other than a puddle of nothing with any shape.

The argument that the silver haired teen offered somewhat made the other one laugh even more. Gokudera's cheeks turned red and he defiantly turned his head to the sky once again. His hands were strongly crossed over his chest and his eyes were closed as if nothing could make them open ever again.

Yamamoto didn't have any idea of when he stopped looking at the sky, and he probably didn't really care much for it as well. That was because instead of looking into the vast blue wonder, he was looking at the one thing that would forever catch more of his attention than anything else in the entire world. His lover.

And once said lover opens his eyes and looks around after feeling eyes watching him, his green eyes immediately fall upon his tall lover's dark ones and lock onto them in an almost automatic fashion. The realization hits him and his curiosity rises to the point when he asks,

"What is this all about?" he raised a questioning eyebrow. "Is there something wrong? Do you need anything?"

* * *

_And it is sunny outside and the world smiles at me,  
__it's a genuine smile._

* * *

"Nothing." the swordsman answers simply. A warm, loving smile grows on his face as he continues looking into the depths of emerald eyes. "Nothing at all."

Gokudera didn't really know why he was beginning to feel warm and dizzy in the head, but he liked that feeling and kept returning the intimate gaze his lover was sending him. "Really?" he asked in an almost dreamy voice that was definitely not typical to him. "Then why are you smiling at me like that?" his question probably came when he didn't have knowledge of the matching smile that appeared on his own face, but it didn't matter.

"It's just that..." Yamamoto said, his eyes subconsciously straying a bit, thus causing a slight disappointment rise in his partner chest at the lost of contact. "Well..."

"Well what?" Gokudera asked impatiently, he wanted to know. It all felt so surrealistic when he really used this small amount of time to think of the situation. The two of them, sitting in the middle of a peaceful park, by the lake, watching the sky. Finally laughing freely. It was all that they had wished for in the future, and now they had it. They had it and, of course, each other.

"I just find it amusing, that watching you feels a lot more fulfilling than watching the sky."

And the storm guardian really, honestly, couldn't explain why he felt so important, so significant at that moment when he heard those words. His face burned immediately and he turned it from the rain guardian's amused face. Really, what was he thinking?

He didn't get much time to wonder to himself because as soon as he turned his head a face showed in front of his eyes. Dark eyes and dark hair were the only features he saw of his lover before he was pulled into a blissful world. One where he was only with his love, there was no one else in the large park and the only sounds they heard came from nature.

It was amazing, he noted to himself as he struggled to breath in his euphoric feeling. An amazing thing that nothing was ever the same, every kiss tasted different, every sound that could be heard was new and, every touch felt special in it's own way and every sensation was nothing he had felt like before. It was weird like that.

But then it stopped. Why did it stop?

An annoying ringing sound was what served as the means for an answer to his innocent question.

**

* * *

**

_My love that is difficult for you,  
__it's good for me._

_It's good to me, so today  
__I don't let it go._

* * *

"Oh it's my cell phone wait a minute."

That was Yamamoto's voice that said it. His hand made it's way to his left pocket and took a silvery blue mobile out of it. Without stalling any longer than was needed, he answered the phone. All the while, Gokudera was looking annoyed simply by the seemingly disregarding attitude his boyfriend was displaying toward him. In his opinion, that cell phone should have been thrown away the moment it began ringing.

So if you looked at the storm guardian during those moments, you can see he was clearly showing his dissatisfaction in the situation. Who was it that had the insolence to interrupt such a perfect moment? And with the storm of emotions showing on his mostly frustrated looking face, someone would surely have to pay.

"Oh, Tsuna, how are you?"

That was when all of Gokudera's former thoughts were thrown out of his mind in an instant. Not even a shred left. His interest level peaked the moment he heard his boss' name and his face lit up almost as much as his eyes had. Anyone could see he really was a faithful right hand man to his Tenth.

"The Tenth?" he asked, stars shining in his eyes and fireworks flying in his background.

But Yamamoto seemed to be too focused on the phone to actually pay attention to him at the moment, so no answer came. Yet, it didn't mean that the Italian would give up. Quite the contrary, he was trying even harder to catch his lover's attention.

"Hey Ta-ke-shi!" he jumped and with one movement successfully managed to encircle his arms around the tall guardian's lean, yet firm, shoulders. "Is it the Tenth, is it? What does he want and why didn't he call me if he needed anything?"

Should anyone have been in the park at that moment to witness the storm guardian's behavior, they could have possibly mistaken him for a cute, overly grown, puppy.

"Yes." the rain guardian finally answered. Yet it seemed like it wasn't as an answer to his lover but to his friend on the other side of the phone. "No, no he's with me so there's no need."

"Takeshi?" the swordsman still didn't answer, too concentrated on his other conversation.

"Sure why not, then we will see you there." Yamamoto smiled warmly at Gokudera's confused face and caressed the silver hair lightly with his free hand. "Bye bye."

The moment he hung up he was tackled viciously to the ground in a way that left him with no air in his lungs.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" he asked once he managed to gather enough air to speak.

"So, what did he need us to do?" the dark eyed teen looked up to see his impatient lover hovering above him. "The Tenth." came the two words explanation as to whom he was referring to.

Taken aback by the sudden poetic seriousness Gokudera was showing so strongly, Yamamoto still answered. "Well, he didn't really need us to do anything." he began and continued right after at the still impatient look he was getting from his boyfriend. "He just asked if we wanted to join him and the others and hang out a bit. You know, since it's the last day before school and all..."

"Ah." the Italian made the sound in realization, so that was it? That's it?

"You don't mind that I agreed, right?" Yamamoto asked with a small bit of concern after he thought a bit. Maybe it had been too inconsiderate of him to give an answer for the both of them without consulting with the other teen first? By the following silence he was pretty sure he had done something wrong. What if Gokudera had other plans for the day?

At the continuous lack of an answer Yamamoto's worries would have kept rising. That is, had Gokudera's eyes not began shining once again in the same sort of way they always shine whenever something even relatively small connected to his tenth is mentioned.

"To go see the tenth?" he hadn't seen him in what felt like such a long time.

Relieved that the silver haired teen was not opposing the idea, the rain guardian let out a small sight before speaking. "Don't you want to? Or are we going?" he teased with his hand on his chin and his eyes looking contemplatively as the sky. The overly exaggerated panicked look that was sent his way had probably made his day so much better than it had already been.

"Of course I want to see the Tenth." the storm guardian said, more like shouted. He proudly and gracefully got up from his sitting place on the grass and beautifully posed with one hand outstretched in front of Yamamoto, hinting him to grab a hold of it so he could help him get up. "Come on, let's go!"

Going along with the suddenly energetic Italian, Yamamoto grabbed the pale hand and allowed himself to be pulled so he could stand.

Without wasting a second, Gokudera walked a bit with confidence radiating from him before he noticed Yamamoto wasn't following him. He stopped and turned around only to see the rain guardian laughing silently while trying unsuccessfully to hide it. "Wh-What are you waiting for? Let's go."

The sudden annoyance feeling that filled the storm guardian's chest at the incessant silent laughter wasn't calmed by the single word the other teen had finally managed to speak out at some point. "B-But,"

With an annoyed expression he turned completely to face the rain guardian, "But what?" he was halfway ready to pull the other's hand and drag him away from the park when the tall swordsman's answer stopped him with complete embarrassment.

"But you were going the wrong way, we are supposed to meet them near the school." he stated simply and amusedly as he caught sight of his lover's red face. Yet he didn't stop at that and took the opportunity to embarrass the poor Italian even more. "And the last time I checked, it was this way." he gestured someplace to his left as he spoke. "And not that way." he moved his hand to point someplace to his right.

Taking pity on the silent green eyed guardian, Yamamoto took him by the arm and began walking. The right way this time.

"Come on, let's go meet them."

* * *

_Just when I wanted to bury it all  
__and fold the flag.  
__And until I found a real truth  
__and it caused me to fall._

_Hold on tightly to the pillars that people set and listen,  
__it's opposing the storm  
__that blows buildings and gives me my strength._

* * *

On their way to meet their friends, the two Vongola guardians were both too deep in their thoughts to make a conversation. They only walked automatically with a peaceful pace that they could have only dreamed of during certain times they had spent in the eventful future.

They both had the same thought in their heads that went along the lines of what a long way they had gone since the time they marched from their room in the infirmary, their hands were shaking and their throats completely dry, to meet their family to this time, when they feel free both physically and mentally. They feel strong and somewhat recovered with the will, motivation, means and support to keep walking forward and face everything that comes in their way.

Even the insecurities were the same as they walked by each other's side, hands entwined tightly. The difference though, was that now they were a lot more confidence in their success to make themselves be accepted by the rest of the family. If it didn't work out, if they were rejected for who they were, then they would still be able to make it work. There was no other possibility.

For them both, especially for Yamamoto, the fact that his father had accepted their relationship had been a great support for them to keep themselves calm and collected. And anyway, the tenth wouldn't reject their relationship. Gokudera knew this because at the future he saw... Well, he pretty much repressed it.

And the others? Since their reaction is not as important as the tenth, well, they will just have to wait and see.

* * *

_In a beautiful sunny day I wake up late and open  
__a window to the street.  
__There are a million people passing in front of my eyes  
__some far and some real close._

_And what a beautiful sea,  
__and the air is already clean because of the rain  
__that passed here yesterday._

* * *

It had all began when Yamamoto and Gokudera took the last turn to get to the school. It had been then that they heard the indication they had been seen by the others.

It was a double voiced "I knew it!" that was accompanied by a matching laughter.

Haru and Kyoko, had both caught sight of the two guardians' entwined hands and the not so hidden kiss marks. That had probably been the cause of the sudden shout. Chrome, that had been standing between the two excited girls from the beginning, was silent. Yet, her silent blush had said it all. She most definitely knew.

Not even an ounce of embarrassment or, if you looked even further, shame, had coursed through the lovers' veins as they made their way towards the group that had been waiting for them. There was something else that was there though. The not so faint feeling of pride in their situation, in the progress they have made since the time the two of them had woken up in a dark cell under the enemy's base.

So their eyes were looking around proudly and the moment Gokudera's confident gaze turns curiously to see his boss' reaction, he sees him blush. So he had also already known. There was no other explanation to the unsurprised aura around the Vongola future leader.

A small, fragile, gloved hand came to cover a closed mouth shyly as hazel eyes stray to look at anything but the gazing emerald ones that wouldn't stop inquiring in complete silence. "I also had my suspicions, so..."

On the short sky flame bearer's left shoulder stood his infamous tutor, Reborn. The arcobaleno just continued smiling in complete, blissful satisfaction.

Hibari Kyoya, who had also had his own grand share of hints and displays stood silent and unnoticed by the rest of the family on the school's rooftop. With Hibird on his shoulder as a single, and only, witness, he let a small, almost invisible, smile cross his lips.

Lambo, who had seemingly followed the group from Tsuna's house to find an opening so he could attack Reborn, had come out of hiding at the change of events. "Hiiii! He is holding octopus head's hand!" the cow yelled loud enough that none of the people in the surrounding neighborhood could have possibly been safe from his voice. "But that's what girlfriends do, right?"

And Ryohei, who still didn't get it went by the young Bovino's words as he turned to the amused green eyed guardian and asked him with his booming voice. "What, you have a girlfriend? Where is she?"

And Gokudera only looked at him strangely, a look that combined both pity and confusion while reminding himself all the time not to answer the question because the answer that would come out of his mouth would not be what the boxer expects. He had to remind himself over and over that it's not ethical to make fun of someone who had lost his brain.

It must be difficult to live that way after all.

* * *

_My love, if that's a genuine smile,  
__I already stopped asking._

_I stopped asking, so now,  
__I don't let it go._

* * *

'Phew', *wiping sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand*. Writing this had been... tiring.

No, but really, that's just because I have such a small amount of time every week and almost never manage to keep up with each and every one of my plans. It's a good thing I already had some of the chapter written or I wouldn't have finished writing it this weekend as well.

Well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading the chapter and don't worry, it's not over yet. Other than this chapter, there is the next and then the epilogue.

So...

**Next chapter: **The last chapter before the epilogue. Basically, the chapter that ends it all, since the epilogue itself is going to be taking place in the future. Take it as a clue, when I say that an ending is always the beginning of something else.

I don't know when, but I hope I will be able to update in the next three weeks, don't promise though because I am going to have to stay away for at least two weeks straight before I can come back home for the weekend and I have no idea whether it would be possible for me to finish the chapter during this short amount of time.

Until we meet again, bye bye.


	23. The End

**Blanco: Chapter 22 – The End**

Yamamoto Takeshi was at the moment situated in Gokudera Hayato's house. He was alone in the comfortable and warm apartment as the storm guardian went to buy some food for lunch. He said he would be the one to make it today. He was sitting alone in the small kitchen.

The time was right after they came back from meeting their friends and before lunchtime. Thinking about only mere a hour ago, Yamamoto had an unsettled expression on his pale face.

It was only ten minutes after they met everyone that Reborn suddenly got a message in a weird beeper-like thing they had never seen on him before then. The moment he finished reading it, he looked so disconcerted that it was obvious something had happened. After all, when had they ever seen reborn worried and everything was completely fine? The little arcobaleno then whispered a short sentence in his young boss' left ear and gave him a serious look when the boy turned his surprised expression of large hazel eyes towards him.

Something _had_ happened.

Without a word the Vongola's young boss disappeared from his friends' unknowing eyes, taking the arcobaleno along with him, of course. The people who did notice and allowed it to happen could see the unconsciously made effect this certain disappearance had made on the group. In two minutes, Chrome was already taken shopping by the two other bright girls. Seeing the three radiant females leaving, Lambo ran shortly after them while Ryohei mentioned something about wasting precious training time and left to the other direction. Maybe it was not even needed to mention for all the normalcy of it, but Hibari, as always, simply couldn't be seen.

It was only a matter of time until the two guardians could be alone together again.

How long did the time seem to have been when the two of them had been locked alone in that cold, dark cell. How long had it been since each of them had been taken to that awful white room in which only bad things had happened. How long had it really been? A month? Two or three? More? By the change and progress they have made, it could have felt more like years if not for the still fresh random memories that still wouldn't let go of their grip on the guardians' minds.

It had been long enough though. Long enough to not only get over the horrors they had witnessed of each their partner's states during those times but more. They had gotten over the obsessive paranoia and the constant feeling of not being safe despite the change in environment for the better. They had gotten over the fear of being rejected and the thoughts of being unwanted. They have found each other.

* * *

"Are you sure I also have to come with you?"

Reborn looked at the brown haired boy as they both kept moving forward. "Yes, whatever the ninth has written in this letter probably relates to you so you have to be there when I open it."

That Tsuna understood, but there was something else he thought about. "But why now? Why couldn't we wait for later and had to just leave everyone there?" after all, it was not so nice to arrange a meeting with everyone and just leave at the exact moment everyone had arrived. Well, he wasn't so sure whether Hibari had been there or not, but all the others were present when they left.

"Because, stupid Tsuna, whatever the ninth writes and tells us to do takes the top priority, nothing else. You have to get used to it." And he said nothing more, which was read quite well by the boy as 'Don't argue with me any more, or else.'

As the two finally got to their destination, Tsuna opened the door to his house and went upstairs with only a short call to announce he arrived. That call only served to confuse his mother in her cooking because he originally told her he would be back much later.

Reborn looked around the room and saw it. A letter with Vongola's signature. It was placed on Tsuna's desk and not a breath was taken before it was already in his small hands. And so, ignoring the boy whose room was his, he sat by the open window and opened the long waited-for letter.

Silently, only by his eyes and in his head, he began reading the short yet pointed letter his boss had left for him and his pupil.

"_To both my dear old friend, Reborn and my heir, who would take care of our future family, Tsunayoshi,_

_In these times of cold peace, comes the moment to pass knowledge. While the old generation prepares to depart the new one shines brightly. We all look forward with hopes to witness better times. It is important to remember the past as you plan your moves and take your choices. Times were never as fatal to us as during those moments of replacements. For all the changes in the family we will have to take, I wish us to pass everything calmly and calculative._

_Tsunayoshi, my precious child, now you have your guardians but one day it will not feel enough. For you eill have to take care of everything else you are going to receive. You will have it all. The empire, the soldiers, the castles and the companies. Good and bad times are ahead of you and I want you to learn about it as soon as you can so you could be prepared._

_Be a boss that would stop at nothing to take care of his family._

_Reborn, help him understand what it means to lead am empire and feel the consequences that are going to arise from each choice he has to take. I need your assurance that everything will go as needed and nothing will get in the way of our plans. There is nothing more important than the Family._

_Hope for the best as you look at the future, _

_Vongola Ninth."_

"Reborn? What did it say?"

* * *

In their own isolation, Yamamoto and Gokudera kept spending their day with each other. At the moment, the two love-struck guardians could be once again spotted in Gokudera's apartment. It was just after the sun had set that the storm guardian was sitting patiently on the couch, waiting for his lover to arrive.

It was while Yamamoto entered the room after a seemingly too long shower that Gokudera began appreciating the other boy in his thoughts. Just how silky his movements were and how attractive his fragrance was as it spread through the room. The way he walked, the sexiness in his still somewhat wet body, the confidence he held in his scarred heart, everything about the rain guardian just screamed about how amazing he is and how lucky the storm guardian is to have such a perfect person in his grasp.

Yamamoto then smiled beautifully as his eyes passed across the room, and in one moment his attention was suddenly drawn to the bloodstained piano that always stood out in the room. It was weird, the sudden connection and urge he felt to the one piece in the house that rarely drew him to it. He got closer and let his fingers ghost over the wooden cover. It was only a moment later that he was surprised to feel it opening. Without even looking he could feel his lover's presence behind him, as the other, with one hand on each side of his thin boyfriend, uncovered the piano's clean keys.

Part feeling, part knowing, but mostly going by instinct, the Japanese boy took the left side of the stool by the old piano just as the Italian took the right side.

Perfectly synchronizing with a song that was held dear to both, the music began.

* * *

"_It's difficult for me to concentrate,  
__because your beauty still amazes me.  
__It's hard to say it's not worth it or tell maybe.  
__Instead I dance and scream to the moon: 'Get down here!'  
__and blame the world for my pains._

_Sometimes I forget, how it all began  
__when I was looking at the moon.  
__When you forget, yes,  
__yes you are unfortunate."_

* * *

"Rain in the sky, the moon can not be seen for now  
and when it will come out, we will take a walk until it disappears."

Gokudera stopped playing then, it was a sudden move that broke his counterpart's concentration and made him stop singing at once. The blissful symmetry of the two matching souls' literary magic seemed to have stopped as pale fingers left the black and white keys to rest on reddened cheeks. Dark brown and bright green met in a single spark with complete silence in the background.

"I don't know what I would have done without you."

The pure confession came from nowhere just as it came from everywhere. It was known forever but was still told at that special moment, whether from a compulsive need or a random thought, none knew. Neither did it matter.

With nothing stopping him, the dark haired guardian circled his arms around his boyfriend and held him tight, it was his answer to the previous statement. As he felt the heat from the other boy's body, he heard that loved voice again.

"I don't want you to ever let me go." The storm guardian didn't know what made him say it. It just naturally came out.

Letting go to just look at those emerald eyes had never been so difficult, but it was still possible. "Don't worry, because I already plan to spend the rest of my life with you." said Yamamoto Takeshi with all the love he could feel.

And with that, he continued his angelic singing as he kept looking at his precious lover.

* * *

_It was such an era, that happiness was expressed by anger.  
__We used to laugh about everything, we burnt whatever we held in our hands.  
__There was nothing left, but to embrace the remorse  
__And say: "Yesterday was good  
__and tomorrow will be too."_

* * *

And that is THE end, though there is still the last chapter as planned – the epilogue.

More than half a year...

First, how are you doing? I hope that you enjoyed the chapter and that I was not as rusty as I thought I was going to be. Because, in the end, I liked it.

I'm going to give you the reason why I couldn't write. Take it as you want to, because I got my most loved hobby back and I am still going to keep on writing.

I'm a soldier, I have been since April. After eight months of constant changes, I now have people I have to take care of, I'm a medic.

I know I can't expect you to understand the choice I had to make between my family and friends to my computer, but I wish you would. It was not easy, but I used to be and still am at home only once a week or two for less than a weekend (which is only two days in my country...). And the difficulty of arranging the short amount of time between much needed rest, my family and my friends left me no choice other than stop writing.

It became easier now though. Probably because I got used to it. I'm no longer tired when I get home, probably because my base is more than six hours bus drive from my house. I can finally find some time for myself in my life at home and this I what I choose to use it for.

I can't make promises, I can only hope with you. Because you need to realize that I'm waiting for these chapters as much as you do. I have always had the will and now I have the means back in my hands. As much as my life can be unexpected, I believe I can still find the time to write.

So, bye bye for now.


	24. Epilogue

**Blanco: Epilogue

* * *

**

_There used to be someone,  
__who knew magic,  
__knew how to say the words  
__that painted the sun with blood._

* * *

A long time ago, far into the future and distantly into the past at the same time, there lived six animals. First, there was the easily frightened, obviously vegetarian, hazel eyed rabbit. Second was the carnivorous wolf, who always used to walk around, look for prey he could bite to death. Third was the lion, proud and always looking to be on top and live to the EXTREME. Well, that's just how lions are... the fourth was a sneaky and manipulative fox who always used to deceive everyone. And then there were the last two, the inseparable cat and dog, forever rushing one by the other's side with their everlasting chemistry.

All the six cute animals lived together in their house that was located far in Italy, as they served their master.

And their master? Well, he was a cow. Loud and heard, feared in his presence and so over confident that it was scary. What could he say? He was a character that was meant to be admired by all.

He liked grapes and everything related to it. In his spare time he would let his chameleon, Reborn, out of it's cage and play with it. But most of all, he liked drifting off, dreaming abo...

"Idiot cow! Stop daydreaming and do your homework already!"

"Ehhhhh? Octopus head, you're back? Wha...?"

* * *

It was a fairly quiet day in the Vongola palace, as a certain cow likes to call the Vongola's mansion in Italy. It had been a long time since all the guardians decided to move in there, and the place had been their loved home since then. The air was clean, the area was peaceful and the citizens kept living their lives without any mafia interruptions.

That was the ideal, dreamed of, situation.

The lives of Vongola's people in the not so exact time of ten years into the future were progressing as they should have the first time around. There were no crimes worth talking about coming from the Millefiore family. The air was clean and the arcobaleno were still causing chaos each in their own way, thankfully not together. The Vongola family was functioning properly, from the boss to the significant underling. No other time in the known history was the family this prospering and confident in it's ways than it was now.

The boss was alive. He was breathing, walking and spreading orders around to this very day. Sawada Tsunayoshi was not beaten, neither was he shot down. He succeeded in surviving what was not there when the time came and kept on leading his precious family to golden times. The sky rose stronger than ever before. All it's elements, of course, kept surrounding it constantly.

* * *

_I remember at nights of full moon,  
__you used to come to me.  
__Not accidentally,  
__drugged,  
__crazy, unconscious.  
__We used to fall on the floor,  
__take off to the ceiling.  
_

_We used to make love._

* * *

And with all this air of peaceful times, as much as it can be with relations to the mafia, one conversation's end could be heard.

"Are you worried?"

"No." the voice was calm and confident. Just like the person whose voice it belonged to had no worries in his entire life. "Are you?"

"No." perhaps it was the assurance that another person felt this answer was the right one as well, but it was easy for this certain person to make this one word come out of his mouth so silkily.

"So what brought about the subject? It had been a long time since you had been worried about the past." the Vongola's famous storm guardian said as his eyes washed over his lover's body.

"Nothing." the Rain guardian answered simply. "I just had some brief nostalgic feelings. No reason that I know of." he continued as he looked at his lover's amazing eyes. His soft palm rose freely to caress the warm skin of his temperamental lover and sense the long forgotten marks left on the beautiful back.

"I've got you right where I want you, you know?" Gokudera whispered softly as he gazed down lustfully into his lover's dark eyes.

Yamamoto smirked at that, "Oh really? What a coincidence, I've got you right where I want you too."

* * *

_We were good,  
__we were bad.  
__We were together._

_We never left a choice._

* * *

With all the knowledge the two Vongola guardians from the future now posses, with all the knowledge of the happenings of the past ten years, they didn't have any idea. They didn't know everything that was going to happen to their past selves.

Would the two little guardians, the mature rain and rash storm, ever get to live as happily ever after as their two older selves had? None of them knew.

But there was one thing. One thing that they knew for sure – they would live through it all together, not separating their ways.

Each by the other's side.

* * *

_I remember at nights of full moon,  
__you used to come to me._

_Not accidentally drugged, crazy and unconscious.  
__We used to fall on the floor, drip to the ceiling._

_How we used to make love._

* * *

**The End**

* * *

Hi everyone :]

Well, now that it is over there are last few things I wish to write to you.

First, I hope you enjoyed reading the story, it was a fun project to me that kept me sane during insane times and as much as it dragged in the end was not because I didn't know how to finish it but that I had too many different endings in my mind. That and the part about me not having time to write at all... I also hope you managed to understand the epilogue as much as I tried to convey it, but there were difficulties. Oh, and it was meant to be short.

The real difficulty I experienced was trying to express everything that I had in mind in English. You see, I know all about the difficulty of putting everything in English. People would be surprised by how many words we use in Hebrew that couldn't be translated to English at all. I will not even begin to complain about how strange it feels to not have a word exactly for something I want to say (take the word 'you' for example, in my language there are four separate words for that one. 'You' in both genders, and also singular and plural for each.) It's so frustrating sometimes, but I always try to find a way around it. I hope I managed.

Sorry about that... being able to keep my frustrations inside is not one of my known characteristics.

So back to topic now: I still have some related parts of this story to give you. There is the one shot with the missing part of chapter 6, it has been named 'Condemning Actions'. Then, the next part is going to be the Xanxus/Tsuna piece- 'Empires Fall Slowly'.

Thats what I have for you so far, so enjoy your weeks until the next parts arrive,

Bye bye.


End file.
